cent chance of developing into a
type of skin cancer (squamous
cell carcinoma) if they're not re-
moved.
More studies need to be done
on the relationship between diet
and skin, says Dr. Stephen
Stone, a Springfield, Ill., derma-
tologist.
"We really don't know for sure
why a lot of these things work,"
Dr. Stone says. "There's vitamin
C, for example, which is an an-
tioxidant. It's not a sunscreen,
but used on sun-damaged skin
there's some evidence it does
block sun damage. That's why
it's caught on."
Eating an orange or drinking
a glass of orange juice, both high
in vitamin C, doesn't do the same
thing.
"One of the problems is there
is so much folklore out about vi-
tamins," says Dr. Stone.
Alpha hydroxy acids, touted as
fruit acids, glycolic and lactic
acids, occur naturally in foods.
Most products available today,
however, are made synthetically
to get a purer form. They have
transformed the cosmetic indus-
trY-
Beyond the creams, the right
food and water seem to make a
difference in skin.
Drinking eight glasses of wa-
ter a day results in healthy-look-
ing skin, says Dr. Stone. But he's
not sure if there's a long-term dif-
ference or whether it's just that
dehydrated skin doesn't look as
good-
There have been studies on de-
ficient diets.
"In deficient diets there are all
sorts of problems with skin," says
Dr. Stone.
`There are cutaneous signs of
vitamin A deficiency, vitamin B
deficiency, vitamin C deficiency
where you get bruising_and bleed-
ing from the gums. The skin gets
very fragile."
Do extra vitamins help the
skin?
"That hasn't really been
proven," says Dr. Stone. 'There
are some people, who when their
fingernails get soft or split easily,
use biotin, a naturally occurring
vitamin It does seem to help. But
is that a placebo effect? The sci-
ence hasn't been done."
Some people feel strongly that
adult women who have persistent
acne may be affected by eating
nuts and peanut butter, adds Dr.
Stone.
Fresh fruits and vegetables
might be good for your skin.
He does not favor taking sup-
plements to help the skin.
"There's no evidence that
above and beyond the normal
amount of antioxidants that
more is going to make a differ-
ence, certainly not for the skin,"
says Dr. Stone. 0

Charlyo Fargo is a writer for

Copley News Service.

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