Skin depigmentation (a possible case of Vitiligo?)

[tykes]

Hi all, I would like to ask for advice about a skin depigmentation issue .
Some months ago, (by the time my baby was born more or less, she has 6 months old now) I noticed some small white spots appeared in my hands, at first were very few, I didn't worried very much about it. Nevertheless, these last months the spots have spreaded rapidly in other areas, mainly forearms and recently my neck and face.

Until now, I haven't visited a dermatologist, though I arranged and appointment for the next week, so I'm waiting for a medical diagnosis yet. Anyway, given that some family members (from both sides) have suffered from vitiligo, I'm almost sure that's it, though for now it's just and assumption on my part.

I've been searching in the net also, I didn't find anything really conclusive, for what I've found apparently Vitiligo it's an autoimmune condition and has no cure and it's causes are undetermined, there is little information about diet and the disease and on the contrary a lot of contradictory information from many different sources.

In Sott website, I've found a couple of articles about vitiligo, in one of them, it is explained that it could be a link between gluten consumption and vitiligo (which makes much sense) and the other recommends vitamin b12 and pepper as auxiliary elements in the treatment of vitiligo, (I already bought Complex B vitamins since I couldn't get the b12 vitamin alone, and use a lot of black pepper in my meat) both articles really useful.

I'm certain that just as practically any health issue it has to do with the diet, mine is gluten and diary free, though I'm still eating lot of carbs (mainly fruits). My diet is nearly all meat, Pork meat basically, beef and once in a while goat meat and chicken (this one rarely). Sporadically I have relapse in the consumption of corn in the form of tortillas, specially this last months I ended eating some. I felt very guilty about it though, sometimes I'm stubbornly weak. It's the next step for me, cut all of corn.

By the moment that's all, Thanks in advance for the attention. I will keep you updated of how it was my visit with the dermatologist.

 

[tykes]

Here's a pic of the spots in one of my hands:

 

[herondancer]

Hi Tykes,

You wouldn't want those spots to get any worse, for sure. While you are waiting on your results, it wouldn't hurt to get really strict on your diet, cutting the fruit, corn, etc. As some other people were told in the last session, there are situations where you can have no slips in diet. The fact that this condition runs in your family doesn't bode well. I also found an article linking vitiligo and candida. All that fruit will keep a candida infection going, so with the gluten from corn and the sugar from the fruit, you are giving your immune system a double-whammy to deal with.

The holidays are winding down now, with less pressure to eat stuff you know isn't good for you. Maybe your New Year's resolution could be to do the diet as well as possible. No bad stuff, lots of bone broth and so on. It looks like your catching it early, so you might be able to reverse things in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Gaby]

It could be a fungal infection, the fungus prevents the skin cells from making melanin - the pigment. You can inquire about this with your doc as it is a possibility.

 

[tykes]

Thanks Herondancer and Psyche.
I will definitely will be much more strict with my diet, just catching up with the ketogenic diet thread.
That pics of the fungal infection look very similar to the spots in my hands, though the spots in my neck and face have a wider form, and a different tone. I will inquire the doctor about it as Psyche recommend. Don't know what is the lesser of two evils, but I think I'd rather prefer a Fungal infection than vitiligo. Anyway, I will know until a few days.

Thank you very much for the insight.

 

[Renaissance]

Thanks Herondancer and Psyche.
I will definitely will be much more strict with my diet, just catching up with the ketogenic diet thread.
That pics of the fungal infection look very similar to the spots in my hands, though the spots in my neck and face have a wider form, and a different tone. I will inquire the doctor about it as Psyche recommend. Don't know what is the lesser of two evils, but I think I'd rather prefer a Fungal infection than vitiligo. Anyway, I will know until a few days.

Thank you very much for the insight.

I could be wrong but I think Psyche may have been suggesting that a possible cause of the Vitiligo may be a fungal infection.

Saturated fats play an important role in the health of your skin cells, and polyunsaturated fats (i.e. corn, soy or other vegtable oils that you may be getting from corn chips and the like) prevent your cells from providing a good defense. Tyrosine is an amino acid that is needed for the production of melanin and interestingly saturated fats play a role in tyrosinase activity and melanin production, whereas unsaturated fats limit it. I'm sure there's more to it with an auto-immune disorder, but it is an interesting connection. Here are a couple of studies on the topic:

http://www.jbc.org/content/279/15/15427.long

Free fatty acids have been shown to have remarkable regulatory effects on melanogenesis, i.e. unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and α-linolenic acid (C18:3) decrease melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity, whereas saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) increase it (16, 17).

http://www.jlr.org/content/40/7/1312.full

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of fatty acid-induced regulation of melanogenesis. An apparent regulatory effect on melanogenesis was observed when cultured B16F10 melanoma cells were incubated with fatty acids, i.e., linoleic acid (unsaturated, C18:2) decreased melanin synthesis while palmitic acid (saturated, C16:0) increased it.

Increase of Melanogenesis in the Presence of Fatty Acids

Tyrosinase catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds to the corresponding quinines which are subsequently converted to melanin pigments. (...)The results showed that saturated fatty acids are more potent tyrosinase activators than unsaturated ones.

 

[Gaby]

It could be a fungal infection and not necessarily vitiligo. The later one is an autoimmune disease.

When there is a fungal infection, sometimes the spots join together and then they look bigger. I guess we'll find out soon enough! But I second the tip on good fats, they are the best thing for the skin.

 

[Nienna]

It could be a fungal infection and not necessarily vitiligo. The later one is an autoimmune disease.

When there is a fungal infection, sometimes the spots join together and then they look bigger. I guess we'll find out soon enough! But I second the tip on good fats, they are the best thing for the skin.

My ex-husband had this type of thing. It was on his neck, back and upper arms. It was a fungal infection, according to his sister, who also had it and was a nurse. She gave him an anti-fungal cream to put on the skin and it made the spots disappear. And the spots he had were fairly large to smaller.