Which Foods To Avoid When You Have Vitiligo ?

A common question that most people with vitiligo ask is whether their diet makes any difference to their skin condition or not. Current research suggests that changing the food you consume is not going to cure your vitiligo. However, this may well help if you are not getting a healthy, balanced diet at the moment. You need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as a variety of starchy foods. Try to cut down on fatty rich foods or processed foods that contain fewer nutrients. A healthy diet includes plenty of drinking water which is good for you generally and not just only for your skin.

Such a diet is needed to give you a good supply of the nutrients which help to promote healthy skin and are involved in the process of pigmentation that includes vitamin C, vItamin D, vitamin B12, and folic acids.

There is no scientific evidence to prove that the food below is bad for vitiligo patients but some of the people have reported to their condition worsened while on them, so it is better to avoid these foods.

Food To Avoid When You Have Vitiligo

Vitiligo patients should avoid the following types of food in order to aggravate the symptoms of this condition:

Fruits containing hydroquinone

Hydroquinone is one of the depigmenting agents which is why it has been used in skin bleaching creams. Hence, it is best in order to avoid pears and blueberries that contain hydroquinone.

Food with a good amount of vitamin C

Vitamin C inhibits the formation of pigments so, avoid consuming any fruits or vegetables that have a good amount of vitamin C. In vegetables, prevent the usage of eggplant ant mainly the tomatoes whereas in fruits avoid the lemons, gooseberry as well as orange.

Excessively sour foods

Excessive sour or fermented food can make your white patches even wider as they contain ascorbic acid which lightens the skin color. So, try to avoid excessive sour foods.

Processed foods

To be able to maintain a diet without having processed foods is impossible but keeping them at a minimum is essential. You might ask what that minimum is as everything in the grocery store is processed whereas at least 50 % of your food shouldn’t be processed. Avoid the oily spicy processed packaged and also reduce to eat pickles, chocolates as they are processed too.

Gluten

This component which is found in wheat has been closely linked to inflammation that triggers the immune system to be active and start attacking your melanocytes. Vitiligo patients with celiac disease showed dramatic improvement once they employed a gluten-free diet with vitiligo patches improving through time.

Sugar

Sugar is another ingredient that promotes the inflammation in which too much sugar in the system may trigger a severe autoimmune response which may worsen the vitiligo symptoms.

GE (GMO) foods

Foods from a genetically engineered plant which referred to as genetically modified organisms or GMOs have been widely criticized throughout the market because of the negative effects on our body. Vitiligo patient could also worsen their condition because of the chemical components that come along with the production of these plants that includes pesticides and insecticides.

Artificial food colors

Avoid artificial food colors added during food preparations as they might make your condition worse.

Non-vegetable foods

Lastly, avoid non-vegetable food like fish, red meat, dairy product, and all the high-calorie fatty and sugary foods. It is needed for the patient to avoid non-vegetable food because some bodies misread them as foreign bodies and fight them, causing an adverse reaction.

Among the above foods which is beneficial for people to avoid those who are living with vitiligo. Along with this, the Diet instruction includes for restriction of food are:

  1. Cereals to be avoided- Refined flour, white rice, rye, and barley
  2. Fruits to be avoided- Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapes, lemon, and strawberries.
  3. Vegetables to be avoided- Tomato, potato, brinjal, ginger, garlic, and raw onion.
  4. Pulses to be avoided- Black lentil, chickpea, kidney beans, and black gram.
  5. Dairy products to be avoided-  Whole milk and its product such as curd, cheese as well as buttermilk.
  6. Spices to be avoided- Mustard, carom seeds, clove, black cardamom.
  7. Drinks to be avoided- Alcohol, tea, coffee, carbonated as well as canned juice
  8. Flesh foods to be avoided- Red meat, processed meat, and egg
  9. Dry foods to be avoided- Cashew, peanuts
  10. Oils to be avoided- Butter, Saturated fats as well as refined oils.

Last Updated on July 28, 2023 by john liam