Last Updated on 24th July 2019 by Caroline Haye
Is our perspiration bleaching our skin?
There is a school of thought that says degenerative diseases are the result of an accumulation of toxic, acid waste in the body. In the case of vitiligo, this theory suggests the loss of skin colour may be caused partly by the destruction of melanin cells by dietary and metabolic acids that are then eliminated, not only through urination, but also through the pores of the skin. The idea that vitiligo sufferers are virtually “sweating bleach” (and maybe also crying, sneezing and dribbling it too!) makes a lot of sense when you consider that the typical locations of white patches are those areas most prone to perspiration (as well as those affected by tears, mucus and saliva).
Whether or not this apparently simplistic explanation is based in fact, there is certainly mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence that shows vitiligo – and many other chronic conditions, even cancers – can respond well to a correction in the individual’s acid-alkaline balance. It seems that the most natural way to restore this balance is to eat sufficient quantities of alkalising foods (typically dark, leafy vegetables). In reality, it isn’t feasible to include the required amounts of these foods in the daily diet, so the best way to supplement intake is to use green “superfoods”.
I don’t live in a laboratory, so I don’t have any verifiable scientific data from my own experiences to support this theory. But what I can say is that before I started taking these green foods my tears and perspiration used to sting a lot (which I assumed was normal). Now that I have been alkalising my system for several years –and almost completely re-pigmented – I no longer experience this stinging sensation and realise that in fact it was not normal after all.
The question of whether or not skin can lose pigment as a result of sweating is not one that has received much attention, from what I can tell. As I was looking at this topic I came across one intriguing research paper. But, without the necessary access, I could not read the full results. The only sense I had, from what I could glean, was that there is something different about the way that vitiligo skin perspires, as compared to normal skin. But whether this difference might be a cause of vitiligo or else a result of it remains to be seen.
