Last Updated on 16th January 2024 by Caroline Haye
Is this spice good or bad for pigment loss (leukoderma)?
If, like me, you love spicy foods you will be no stranger to turmeric, the lovely golden spice derived from the root of the curcuma plant and widely used in Asian cuisine. It certainly tastes wonderful. But some people also swear by it for its therapeutic benefits, even claiming it can restore lost pigment. In this post I shall try to answer the question, turmeric: vitiligo friend or foe?
Medicinal uses of turmeric
As well as being a familiar constituent of curry, turmeric also has many medicinal applications… For example, in the treatment of arthritis, headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems and water retention… Not to mention intestinal worms, loss of appetite, heartburn (dyspepsia), stomach pain, diarrhoea, intestinal gas and stomach bloating… And let’s not forget jaundice and disorders of the liver, kidneys and gallbladder… To name but a few!
Its antioxidant qualities have given turmeric virtual superfood status. And some studies have shown its potential for preventing precancerous conditions developing into cancer. It even gets a mention as a possible source of future treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s. (This is because of its apparent ability to break down the amyloid-beta plaques that can build up and block pathways in the brain.) Finally, and more mundanely, the anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties of turmeric have led to its inclusion in countless traditional skin preparations. And it features in a number of home remedies for a host of common skin complaints and infections.
Turmeric as a vitiligo risk
One of the skin conditions thought to benefit from this wonder-spice is vitiligo (loss of skin pigment, or leukoderma). Notwithstanding my love of Indian takeaways, I have never tried turmeric as a vitiligo remedy. But frequent references to it in this context on the internet suggest that there must be something in it… Especially in light of the fact that vitiligo involves an inflammatory process and raised levels of hydrogen peroxide in the skin. It makes sense then that a substance with both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties would be therapeutic. However, the evidence for this is highly confusing and contradictory.
On the one hand, some people claim that consumption of turmeric (and its topical application when combined with mustard oil) stimulates repigmentation in vitiligo lesions. Yet, on the other hand, turmeric consumption has been cited by the highly respected vitiligo researcher Dr Karin Schallreuter as the most likely reason why many Asian patients whose diets routinely included this ingredient did not respond to pseudocatalase treatment. Far from raising antioxidant levels in these patients, their consumption of turmeric actually lowered them causing increased oxidative stress. This counterproductive effect of turmeric has also been observed when applied topically. Both turmeric and santalol (the main constituent of sandalwood oil) caused further pigment loss when applied to vitiligo patches.
An interesting contradiction
Confused yet? Me too! How can turmeric be both good and bad for you? Of course, there is bound to be a perfectly rational explanation. Maybe it is just a question of degree. After all, everyone knows that water can be both good and bad for us… It is a daily essential for hydrating and detoxifying the body and staying alive. But if you totally immerse yourself in it for more than a few minutes you will drown. So, perhaps it is the frequency and concentration of turmeric in some Asian diets that is the key. Maybe too much too often increases oxidative stress instead of lowering it.
Or maybe it is a question of interaction or contraindication. It could be that the combination of turmeric with other dietary ingredients might be the reason for adverse results in vitiligo patients. Or perhaps the combination of mustard oil with turmeric in the much-praised topical home remedy is the key to its alleged success.
Since I am not a scientist, I cannot really do any more than highlight the apparent contradiction of turmeric in relationship to vitiligo. I can only pose these questions and take a guess at what it all means. The subject is certainly an interesting one and I will keep my eyes and ears open for more information on it. But, in the meantime, I will still enjoy the occasional curry (which I love). However, turmeric will not be part of my nutritional therapy and I won’t be putting it directly onto my skin either – with or without mustard oil – until I know much more about the likely effects.
24 thoughts on “Turmeric: vitiligo friend or foe? ”
Thanks for your informative comment, Erin, and for setting the record straight on Dr Schallreuter’s treatment.
“…Yet, on the other hand, consumption of turmeric has been cited by the highly respected vitiligo researcher Dr Karin Schallreuter as the most likely reason why many Asian patients whose diets routinely included this ingredient did not respond to #pseudocatalase treatment”.
This may be an issue of conflation — the lack of the expected result (i.e., expected by Schallreuter) attributed to the turmeric. Yet, there is far from universal agreement in the medical profession regarding the efficacy of Schallreuter’s treatment, and placing the blame for her treatment not working in particular cases on something else is a fairly classic error in science. Of course, if Schallreuter would simply publish the composition of her preparation for the benefit of all — rather than keeping it proprietary and for private (i.e., lucrative) consultative purposes — then she would enable understanding to progress on this issue.
Thanks for that observation, Dave. You have raised a very interesting point about conflation. There’s always the possibility that the 15 patients who did not respond to Dr Schallreuter’s treatment while they were consuming turmeric on a daily basis, and subsequently did respond when they stopped eating it, might also have been eating or coming into contact with something else that prevented the treatment from working. The most likely alternative would be another curry spice that was also eaten on a daily basis and was discontinued along with the turmeric. However, I do feel inclined to give credence to her conclusions myself because I would hope (maybe naively?) that, as a scientist, she would have thought of this and allowed for it and also because turmeric is known to have skin lightening properties, so it does seem the most likely culprit.
I do understand where you are coming from on the subject of profit motive in medicine. But I wouldn’t expect any research scientist (or anyone else, for that matter) to simply give away the means by which they earn a living as long as what they earn is in proportion to the work they do and the benefit to others. I honestly don’t know enough about Dr Schallreuter’s set-up to comment on how its fairness or otherwise. Where I do think there is a lot of greed and corruption is in the amount of profit and power that the big drug companies wield. It is sad that this has been allowed to happen and, of course, the people who ultimately pay the price are those living with illness and in need of treatment.
Very interesting. – my understanding is that dr schallreuters treatment costs are not exorbitant and the funding is directed back to the institutions she works with that are continuing to do research. Dr schallreuter has arguably contributed more than any other researcher to date in advances in vitiligo research so most patients would be happy to contribute to building on her existing work. The antioxidants can react and work differently depending on gene expression and mineral status what may be effective for one group may be opposite for another. It certainly makes sense that Indian diet is higher in turmeric in average. Myself I used of eat a lot of Indian food when my vitiligo was progressing but also it could be the high nightshade content of tomato and eggplant which also cause inflammation. Confounding factors in diet are almost impossible to remove! Thanks for the great post and comments!
Hello, turmeric and general pholyphenol are very interesting substences.Most of them have mild prooxidant effect in the systems which induces stress adaptive responses,like increased Nrf 2 that upregulates most of the antioxidant enzymes catalase glutathione, sod ,etc that protect melanocytes from oxidative stress.In my view the consuption of tumeric by these people was not high enough to increase Nrf 2 pathway so it was acting a mild prooxidant daily basis.For instance gingko biloba supplement a daily dose of 120mg has been shown to to be helpful in vitiligo that is also high in pholyphenols..possible mechanism of it is upregulation of Nrf2 and glutathione that reduce H2O2 in melanocytes.In response to Dr Schallreuter treatment it is interesting that since 1999 she did not come up with new treatment option that address oxidative strees in melanocytes however her treatment works well we can’t deny that.Treatment is very expensive too
Thank you for this insight, Viktor. Sorry that I have only just approved it (due to a technical glitch in my website). This is very valuable information and would indeed explain the apparent contradiction that turmeric presents.
I have been drinking turneric milk from last 10 years continously,its an habbit for me from childhood to hav turmeric milk,recently i hav been diagnosed for vitiligo,so seems ur right turmeric has something to do with vitiligo and may even a cause for vitiligo i feel
Thanks for sharing that, Ahmed. I hope you will see an improvement in your vitiligo if you stop drinking this now 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear about your flare-up, Caroline. It does sound as if it probably was due to your regular consumption of turmeric. So I agree that it makes sense to stop taking this immediately. I am not aware of anything specifically that will undo the effects of the turmeric straight away (there is, of course, no “turmeric antidote”!!) But I would hope you will see some improvement once your body has ha time to rid itself of the effects of the turmeric.
As to the approach that I would recommend for re-pigmenting, this link will take you to a summary of everything I did to reverse my vitiligo. I hope it helps. I will also email you so that you can come back to me if you have any other questions.
Good luck! 🙂
Sorry – forgot to add the link!!!!!! Here it is:
https://thevitpro.com/treatment-summary.html
Hi Caroline,
I am of an Indian origin so naturally tumeric is a primary spice for majority of our cooking. I developed Vitiligo about 3yrs ago. With me its a little strange though. It began only on my face and spread rather quickly but remained on the face then it appeared to have slowed down and now it’s started to reverse. Most of lost pigment on my cheeks have been restored, slightly darker skin but I’d rather have that than white patches…..my skincare regime included mostly of virgin coconut oil and tumeric/sandalwood paste applied few times a week to the affected area. I am also taking all the supplements you have listed down which you benefited from. I have gone gluten-free as well and I think my repigmentation could be the result since both Vitiligo and Gluten Intolerance are autoimmune disorders. I’m not completely out of the woods yet, and may never be so I’m very interested in suggestions to manage this. FYI….I eat curry about one or twice a week, light tumeric consumption.
Caroline what treatment did you use to treat your vitiligo?
It was a nutritional approach, Shirley, combined with moderate amounts of UV (sunshine in the summer and narrowband UVB through the following winter). The supplements I used are listed on this page:
https://thevitpro.com/vitiligo-therapy-that-worked/
and the whole treatment is summarised here:
https://thevitpro.com/vitiligo-nutrition-therapy-summary/
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Caroline
I am.also Caroline. I suffered a bout of arthritis last year and i started taking tumeric twice a day to keep off tge inflamation. However my vitikigo really flared up at tge same time. I decided today to look up at the link beyween tumeric and vitiligo and came across this. The vitiligo has spread all over my back except the back in the past few months.
Could you kindly share your ideas on how to get back my pigmentation. I will stop doing the tumeric right away to see if there will be a difference.
Kind rgds
Caroline from Kenya
Thanks for sharing your good news, Geeta – I am so happy for you. I agree with you that it is much better to have slightly darker re-pigmentation than none at all, especially as this will probably even out with time anyway.
I’m so glad that you are having such success with the same nutritional approach as I used. Your experiences with topical turmeric are also very encouraging and seem to support the view that turmeric can help with re-pigmentation when applied to the skin and possibly also when consumed in moderation, as you do. But I think you are wise not to eat it every day or in large quantities.
If you have any specific questions you would like to ask please feel free to email me at info@thevitpro.com. But, in the meantime, you may find it helpful to read a summary of everything I did to reverse my vitiligo and manage it long term: https://thevitpro.com/treatment-summary.html
Many congratulations – keep up the good work!
I am 66 and after taking turmeric twice daily for arthritis, I developed vitiligo–from toes up to neck! (And sadly it didn’t even relieve my arthritis at all) needless to say I have stopped taking it. Might the vitiligo ever disappear? Or what might I hope for at best?
Very sorry to hear this, Joyce – your experience does seem to prove the point that too much turmeric can indeed cause vitiligo. What a pity it didn’t improve your arthritis either! Glad to know you have stopped taking it though – I would be interested to know if you have noticed any improvement in your vitiligo since stopping the turmeric.
There is always a possibility that your vitiligo may spontaneously reverse, especially if the turmeric was the main trigger. It is also possible that there may be a link between your vitiligo and your arthritis. I also have arthritis but it improved a lot once I re-pigmented.
This is a reply to your question dated 09/07/2018, Joyce. For some technical reason I don’t understand I am not able to reply to your comment in the normal way, so this might appear in the wrong place in the thread – sorry about that!
No I have never heard of Apple Cider Vinegar aggravating vitiligo. On the contrary, it can be beneficial to take this in some water before meals to help combat the low levels of stomach acid production that is quite common among vitiligo sufferers. Some people also find it helps their arthritis.
Personally, I take collagen supplements for the arthritis and they have worked brilliantly for me. I also now think they may have played a significant role in my re-pigmentation too. This blog explains a bit more:
https://thevitpro.com/vitiligo-blog/collagen-for-re-pigmentation
I’m glad to hear that you do not have vitiligo on your face. Let’s hope things start to improve on your body soon. It can take a surprisingly long time for the effects of particular vitiligo “triggers” to wear off and for the de-pigmentation to stabilise. So perhaps this is what has happened as a result of taking so much turmeric.
Hi Caroline , it occurs to me that before, during and for several months after having taken the turmeric twice daily, I was also taking apple cider vinegar daily (also for arthritis) have you heard of any links between abc and vitiligo? Mine has increased a bit in some places on my body but still luckily has not reached my face. Dermatologists tell me my patches are larger and more pervasive than other cases they’ve seen, and it’s surprising it’s not on my face!
Turmeric powder and mustard oil together make one of the best home remedies for Vitiligo.
Hi Caroline,I’m van 36 yrs and I have a vitiligo appeared in my fingers and in feet for the 9 years. kindly email help me to stop spreading my vitiligo in my body hope for your kind consideration. Thank you
Sorry to hear about your vitiligo, Van. I will email you privately about it and will be happy to help in any way I possibly can.
Ugh…this is frustrating. Just acquired the gift of vitiligo, mostly on my head and forehead. Have been rubbing a turmeric cream I made on it, and just bought more along with mustard oil. Now I’m not going near the stuff, because I’m am completely confused. I got some boost supplements yesterday. I’ll probably get the Five a Day also. Just to mention, I eat curry powder multiple times per week as I put it on just about everything. I have also been taking a Turmeric supplement ever since getting Covid last year. I’m practically swimming in Turmeric. I had a small vitiligo patch on my head, but then all of a sudden it spread to a large patch on my forehead & other parts of my head after being really stressed out. I’ll try my best to stop it & reverse it.
Thanks for commenting, Mack. I agree it is very confusing and frustrating trying to get your head round all the conflicting vitiligo information online. And the subject of turmeric is particularly confusing. Before you ditch all your turmeric products though, I should point out that the negative effects only apply to ingesting turmeric on a regular basis, not to using it topically. So I would suggest you continue to apply the cream to see how well that works for you. (I know it does help some people, so it is definitely worth trying. But I certainly don’t recommend taking turneric supplements or eating curry too often (occasionally should be fine). I hope this helps. And I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for your success with Boost and Five a Day too.