Vitiligo > Diet in Vitiligo

Dietary instruction for Vitiligo patients:

There are a few instructions for patients regarding their diet in vitiligo especially about what  they should avoid.   Following are some of our observations based on our clinical experience of treating a large number (over 4500) of patients (clinical observations):

:: Foods that are excessively sour should be avoided. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is known to inhibit the production of the melanin, the color pigment.  Patients with vitiligo are suggested to refrain from citrus fruits, sour yogurt, sour pickles, etc.

Non-vegetarian food are better avoided, as much as possible,  as they act as a foreign body to pigment cells. It has been observed that industrial chemicals (such as mercury) could enter our body through sea food, especially fish; which better be avoided. We have observed at Life Force certain fish leading to sudden aggravation of vitiligo in some patients.

:: Artificial colors used in various food preparations may better be reduced or avoided as far as possible..

There may not be enough scientific evidence to prove how these foods worsen vitiligo but our clinical experience has shown that many patients report worsening of their vitiligo from these items and hence they are better avoided.

The author of this write up is of the opinion is that the since the process of melanin formation calls for physiological pH, in the process where tyrosinase converts tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and then to dopaquinone, intake of  sour food may work adversely, hence hampering the process of melanogenesis.

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