Turmeric:  vitiligo friend or foe? 

Last Updated on 16th January 2024 by Caroline Haye

A bowl containing turmeric

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.

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