Vitamins and minerals are important in the treatment of vitiligo. Certain vitamins are beneficial for vitiligo. Just read the following studies to better understand how vitamins and minerals may help vitiligo:
- "Abnormally
low levels of Vitamin B12, Folic Acid and Vitamin C are found in a
large number of vitiligo patients." Vitiligo:
Nutritional Therapy, by Leopoldo Montes,
M.D., M.S., FRCPC Westhoven Press, Buenos Aires.
- "Patients with
vitiligo show diminished blood levels of folic acid, Vitamin B12,
and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Prolonged oral administration of
these vitamins was followed by definite repigmentation without side
affects," Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 in Vitiligo: A Nutritional
Approach, Cutis Magazine,
Volume 50, July 1992.
- "(Vitiligo) has
been corrected by giving pantothenic acid or PABA." (PABA is a
constituent of folic acid.) Let's Get Well,
by Adelle Davis, A Signet Book from New American Library.
- "Pantothenic
Acid and PABA (an element of folic acid) supplements are effective
in managing vitiligo," Mental and
Elemental Nutrients, by Carl C. Pfeiffer,
Keats Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT.
- "A group of 48
people ranging in age from 10-70 years were given all B vitamins.
Within two months, the white areas turned pinkish, and after six
months, all 48 people were reportedly free of the colorless
patches." Natural Healing,
by Mark Bricklin, Rodale Press, Inc., Ammaus, PA.
- "In India, BEHL
(1994), a vitiligo expert who has probably managed more vitiligo
patients than any other dermatologist worldwide, has observed copper
deficiency in the serum and in the skin of vitiligo patients."
Vitiligo: Nutritional Therapy,
by Leopoldo Montes, M.D., M.S., FRCPC, Westhoven Press, Buenos
Aires.
- "Folic acid and
vitamin B12 supplementation combined with sun exposure can induce
repigmentation better than either the vitamins or sun exposure
alone." Improvement of Vitiligo after
Oral Treatment with Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid and the Importance of
Sun Exposure, by Juhlin L., Olsson MJ.,
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Upssala, Sweden.
- "Nutritional
deficiencies, both in animals and in humans, are known to alter
melanin production. Copper and zinc deficiencies have been reported
to induce hypopigmentation in various animals. Hypopigmentation of
the skin and hair results from copper deficiency in humans; the
depigmentation associated with chronic excessive molybdenum intake
is related to a decreased storage of copper in the liver. Copper
would seem of prime importance because tyrosinase is a known
copper-requiring enzyme." Vitiligo and
Other Hypomelanoses of Hair and Skin, by
Jean-Paul Ortonne, M.D., Plenum Medical Book Company, NY.
- "The content of
copper and zinc ions, accepting immediate participation, during
melanogenesis, is dropped in depigmenting centers of skin. We have
applied adsorbents sated with copper and zinc. The encouraging
results expressing in gradual reduction of a pigmentation of injured
sites of a skin area obtained. Thus, the complex treatment vitiligo
with applicates copper and zinc containing adsorbents normalization
of skin pigmenting function." Application
of Copper and Zinc Containing Adsorbents in Complex Vitiligo
Treatment, by V.G. Kolyandenko, V.N. Korol,
O.N. Bakalinskaya, N.T. Kartel, National Medical University, Kiev,
Ukraine.
- "Achromotrichia
has been claimed as an early indicator of copper insufficiency. This
color change is associated with the decreased activity of
tyrosinase, a copper-containing polyphenyl oxidase which is required
for the synthesis of melanin pigment from tyrosine." Copper
in Animals and Man, Volume II, by John
Howell, McC., D.V.Sc., F.R.C.Path. Jeffrey M. Gawthorne, Ph.D., CRC
Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
- "Among major
symptoms of dietary copper deficiency are neutropenia, hypochromic
anemia, osteoporosis, decreased pigmentation of the skin, and
neurologic disturbances." Copper
Proteins and Copper Enzymes, by Rene Lontie,
D.Sc., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
- "Copper-containing
polyphenoloxidases such as tyrosinase are involved in the production
of melanin from tyrosine. This process is extremely responsive to
changes in copper status; loss of pigment from wool, hair, and
feathers is a sensitive index to changes in copper deficiency."
Copper in Animals and Man, Volume II,
by John Howell, McC., D.V.Sc., F.R.C.Path., Jeffrey M. Gawthorne,
Ph.D., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
- "Copper, folic
acid, and pantothenic acid have been successful in recoloring gray
hair." Know Your Nutrition,
by Linda Clark, Keats Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT.
- "When
pantothenic acid (a B vitamin), used by Dr. Morgan, is absent from
an otherwise adequate diet for animals (which is one of the ways we
learn what humans also need) the animals' hair turns gray, anemia
and eczema appear, the animals appear old before their time, even
when they are young." Secrets of Health
and Beauty, by Linda Clark, The Devin-Adair
Co., Old Greenwich, CT.
- "The natural
color of gray hair has sometimes been restored by an adequate intake
of all the anti-gray hair vitamins." Let's
Get Well, by Adelle Davis.
