Digestive enzymes are secreted along the gastrointestinal tract and break down foods, enabling nutrients to be absorbed. Digestive enzymes are not active inside cells but are produced in the pancreas and released into the small intestine where they chemically break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The body's ability to produce digestive enzymes decreases with age, and the enzymes produced are not as active. This enzyme deficit leads to poor digestion and therefore poor absorption of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients necessary for healthy skin. For example, without sufficient enzymes, the body can't extract beta-carotene from foods and convert it to vitamin A , which is critical to skin health.
Cancer is probably the most serious skin damage caused by free radicals.
In fact, one out of every three cancer cases diagnosed this year will be skin cancer, and one out of every five Americans will develop skin cancer sometime during his or her life- time, making this the most common form of cancer in the United States. There are many kinds of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, the most common type, which affects nearly 1 million Americans each year. Squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common skin cancer, affects 100,000 Americans yearly. Although not diagnosed as frequently as other skin cancers, malignant melanoma is the most dangerous skin cancer and affected 41,600 people in 1998. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation of New York, the incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing at an alarming rate.