I am a 23 year old male Crossfit Instructor from San Diego in the United States Navy. I recently attended a Crossfit Nutrition Seminar in Santa Cruz, CA hosted by Robb Wolf. My reason for going there was to obtain nutritional information that I could pass to my command.
During Robb's lecture he started talking about a 'GLUTEN FREE' diet, and how Gluten is not digestable by Celiacs and people with Vitiligo. This was amazing to me because i have never heard that before, I have had Vitiligo since I was born, I am fair skinned so it doesnt stick out to much, but in the past couple of years it has spread little by little.
(This is what Robb has to say on the issue)
"Vitiligo has a strong autoimmune component exacerbated by....insulin. Drop insulin levels and the progression will cease. Some folks have noted a recovery of the normal pigmentation with time, others not. There tends to be a high prevalence of Raynauds (a vascular condition that occurs when going from hot to cold environments ).
Search under "vitiligo and insulin/hyperinsulinism".
I went up and talked to Robb and he told me about a girl he dated who had Vitiligo. She was very embarrased about it like most of us are. When he first met her, he told her that he was a Chem-Bio major and that he belived if she cut Gluten that she might start seeing her pigmentation reapear, in one month she started seeing her vitiligo improve and today she is spot free.
I cannot say if this works or not. My girlfriend and I have been Gluten free for one week now. The transition was not hard (cut wheat, barley, oats and rye from your diet). Stores like Trader Joes and Henry's have a huge stock of Gluten free food. I have already noticed a difference in the way I feel, but my pigmentation has not started coming back yet(it has only been a week), I am however keeping hope that it will. I cannot say if this does or does not work. I have read a few other stories about how people have cut gluten and their Vitiligo went away.
I feel really strong on this because i have been going to doctors for the past few years and they all say the same things, "take vitamins and the UV light treatment three times a week" the problem is I and I am sure many others dont have time to go to treatment three times a week every week for one hour plus. I hope that this works for our community.
Here are some resouces:
robbwolf.com
The G-Free Diet Author: Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Paleo Diet
Eat for Life
Train Hard,
Christopher Pence
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Thanks for posting this. My 8 year old daughter has Vitiligo and Celiac disease (she can't eat gluten) and I have been searching all over for information on any possible connection. Going gluten-free a year and a half ago slowed her spread of white spots. Only a lot of sun this summer is improving her pigmentation.
Sorry, i havent replied in awhile, i have been super busy. I have been Gluten Free for two months now, i have noticed a differnence in many things however my Vitiligo has not re-pigmented it has also not spread. I attended a Gluten Free presentation at Whole Foods given by a Naturopathic Doctor about three weeks ago, she informed me since the intestine is still healing it could take up to a year before nutrients that we need start becoming accepted by the body again to repigment our skin. I am going to stick with it. I have already found that the Paleo type diet has improved my physical well being as well as mental, so i hope that it improves my skin, that being said if it doesnt, i will most likely still stay with it. Jess, if you have time let me know what the ND says about the issue, one thing i have read was taking Cod LiverOil everyday spikes the immune system so about two weeks ago i started taking it. Gemma i hope you stay with it, are you taking any vitamins? I would talk to you doctor first, but adding in B-12 and Omega-3 might be something to look into. Ogo, i have only read stories of people healing from this diet i do not know anyone personally who has healed from this. It is very challenging staying gluten free in America, i can only imagine how hard it would be for you, i hope you can find local choices that make it easier for you. All the best.
Jess W > Christopher James PenceJuly 26, 2009 at 5:04am
I met with my doc friday and we're going to try a couple things. First off we're going to do a candida diet because it seems like my body is overrun with it, which is likely causing a bunch of other problems including fatigue, digestion issues and the brain fog to name a few :) My ND thinks there has to be a connection between all these symptoms (including skin).
We also did some allergy testing to see what else I might be sensitive to. If it shows other sensitivities, we'll work on those too. We're going to get my body "normal" by not having it try to fight off a whole bunch of candida and allergies and then see how the vitiligo goes. But honestly, if this only has me feeling better with no change to my skin I'll be happy!
I've been reading lots on the connection between the two as well. I'd like to start this diet soon (hopefully it'll help with a whole host of digestive problems and generally feeling unwell as well!).
I'm meeting with my naturopath this week or next and will hopefully start going gluten-free right after that.
Hi Christopher, just wondering how the diet is going and if you've noticed a difference in your vit?? Been keeping my fingers crossed for you! Great to hear that your health is improving even if your vit is slower to respond. I've done a lot more reading on the topic and found many references to links between gluten, celiacs disease etc. and vit so I'm now convinced it WILL make a difference. I was a bit slow off the mark, but just went gluten-free this weekend. Can't wait to feel better! Anyone else trying this?
Just wanted to let you know that I've been gluten-free for a little over a fortnight. No improvement to vit, and still feeling quite tired. Bloating has reduced though and a skin irritation I've had on my arms for months has gone! My GP said it can have miraculous results in the 1st few days but many people find it can take a month or more. I'm sticking with it for now.
This is interesting, butplease is there is anyone or can u please a write up of someone whose Vitiligo went completely with Gluten Free diet.
Its going to be a bit difficult and expensive for persons like us in Africa, but will try and see what our local foods contains in terms of Gluten. To think that some of my medications contains that. A whole lot of theories. God help us.
Hey! Thanks for sharing this - I'll give it a go. I just gave up dairy this week to see if that makes a difference (read a horrific article about antibiotics in milk!), so I guess I'll cut gluten out as well. I've just started taking a cocktail of supplements, including folic acid, vitamin B complex and kelp extract. I genuinely believe that you can achieve results by altering your diet and lifestyle, you just have to hit on the deficiency that applies to you, and stay positive! :)
Since writing this, my girlfriend and i have been on learning and adapting to this new life style. Let me start off by saying that this is the best that I have ever felt in my life, I am not fatigued anymore, I dont feel bloated anymore after meals and, my mood has been just great for the past month. The hardest part is looking at every single ingredient on the label, during the first two weeks I was eating a protein bar that said 'wheat free' so i assumed it was gluten free, however it has 'rolled oats' in it, which contains gluten. Another hard part is eating out, you have to tell the waiter or waitress that you are allergic to gluten and to make sure the chef knows. . I will tell you this, i have had wonderful support from my girfrend that has helped me with this. I havent really noticed a difference in my Vitiligo but i will not stop just because of that. I belive that if i keep going with this that one day it will get better or go away completely. I am starting this week at also cuting out dairy, it is going to be hard but benificial. Hope everyone sends an update.
Ogo Maduewesi > Christopher James PenceJune 5, 2009 at 3:20am
Replies
Thanks for the links!
Beatrice
We also did some allergy testing to see what else I might be sensitive to. If it shows other sensitivities, we'll work on those too. We're going to get my body "normal" by not having it try to fight off a whole bunch of candida and allergies and then see how the vitiligo goes. But honestly, if this only has me feeling better with no change to my skin I'll be happy!
I'm meeting with my naturopath this week or next and will hopefully start going gluten-free right after that.
Its going to be a bit difficult and expensive for persons like us in Africa, but will try and see what our local foods contains in terms of Gluten. To think that some of my medications contains that. A whole lot of theories. God help us.
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