If you're well into flower, it's the plant sucking nutrients from itself to finish up the bloom. I leave them unless they are fully brown/dry, as the plant will just keep moving up to suck more out of the next leaves up. It looks bad, it makes you feel bad, but it's normal once you're into the buds making tendrils, your sugar leaves going crazily snowy and you're praying for landing this crop. My first grow this drove me insane, I've learned to let it go if you're well into bloom. (at least a few weeks).