Foods to avoid

Last Updated on 24th September 2022 by Caroline Haye

What should you not eat if you have vitiligo?

Most doctors would have us believe that there is no link between nutrition and vitiligo.  Any suggestion from a vitiligo patient to this effect is often met with a brusque dismissal or a condescending smile. So expecting advice from your GP on what you should be eating is probably not realistic… Never mind what foods to avoid.

Ever since I put the story of my own re-pigmentation on the internet I have frequently been asked if I followed any particular diet.  The answer I have always previously given is “yes and no”.  This is because I did not eliminate anything from my daily meals. However, I have consistently taken a blend of green superfoods (called Five a Day+V+) which contains massive levels of antioxidants and other nutrients that you would otherwise need to chomp your way through acres of dark, leafy green veg every day to attain.

What foods and supplements did I take during my recovery?

I also took a food supplement that contains most of the vitamins and minerals associated with the pigmentation process and which – in an ideal world – I ought to be able to get from my daily diet but can’t for some reason (probably a digestive malabsorption problem).

This approach seems to have compensated for any lack of attention on my part as to what tasty morsels I put on the end of my fork each day. So I was able to continue to eat a normal diet throughout my recovery. But I have read a lot on the subject of diet since then and I now believe I might have recovered even faster if I had avoided foods that could potentially aggravate vitiligo.  

Wildly differing opinions on which foods are the “bad guys”

Opinions differ wildly on the subject of which foods are the bad guys. Some say nightshades, due to their inflammatory properties. (And I can see the sense in this, although these vegetables are also very nutritious so I still eat them in small quantities.) Some say you should avoid certain combinations, like fish and milk. (But I can find no sound scientific evidence for this). Some say you should avoid dairy and gluten. (Which I agree are hard to digest but you probably only need to avoid them if you are allergic or intolerant.) Others advocate a vegetarian diet (which may leave you lacking in protein and other vital nutrients). In short, it’s all very confusing.

So I don’t worry too much about what specific foods I should be avoiding. I simply do the following (which seems to work, for me at least):

• continue to take the supplements that have worked so well for me for over a decade now
• avoid known allergens and intolerances (gluten in my case)
• cut right down on sugars and processed foods (because these are a major cause of chronic health issues)
• eat lots of fresh vegetables, some fruits (not too many because of the sugars) and good quality meat and fish
• enjoy my food!

I hope you find this information helpful and reassuring amid the contradictions and confusion that surrounds this whole question of what we should and should not be eating if we have vitiligo.  

You can find more on this subject on my diet and nutrition category page.