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Twice Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, coined the term Orthomolecular Nutrition in 1968. He proposed that by giving the body the right molecules (optimum nutrition) most disease would be eradicated. Ortho means corrective, orthomolecular means corrective molecules. Pauling’s premise is optimum nutrition is the medicine of the future.

The benefit of vitamin therapy is to help balance faulty body biochemistry. Pauling’s principal applies to the nutritional deficiencies and needs found in vitiligo sufferers whose main desire is to regain color in existing white spots.

Ground-breaking research by Dr. Leopoldo F. Montes showed that vitiligo patients frequently exhibited blood-level deficiencies of folic acid, vitamins B-12 and C. When he began treating these deficiencies, pigment frequently returned to their whitened skin.

Unlike some treatments, which have potentially dangerous side effects, vitamin therapy offers desirable side effects - like improved health.

Scientists now know that many people with vitiligo are deficient in folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin C, copper, and zinc. The following is a partial list of studies revealing vitamin deficiencies:

“Abnormally low levels of Vitamin B12, Folic Acid and Vitamin C are found in a large number of vitiligo patients. Vitiligo: Nutritional Therapy, by Leopoldo Montes, M.D., M.S., FRCPC Westhoven Press, Buenos Aires.

“In India, BEHL (1994), a vitiligo expert who has probably managed more vitiligo patients than any other dermatologist worldwide, has observed copper deficiency in the serum and in the skin of vitiligo patients.” Vitiligo: Nutritional Therapy, by Leopoldo Montes, M.D., M.S., FRCPC, Westhoven Press, Buenos Aires.

“Nutritional deficiencies, both in animals and in humans, are known to alter melanin pigmentation. Copper and zinc deficiencies have been reported to induce hypopigmentation in various animals. Hypopigmentation of the skin and hair results from copper deficiency in humans; the depigmentation associated with chronic excessive molybdenum intake is related to a decreased storage of copper in the liver. Copper would seem of prime importance because tyrosinase is a known copper-requiring enzyme.” Vitiligo and Other Hypomelanoses of Hair and Skin, by Jean-Paul Ortonne, M.D., Plenum Medical Book Co., NY.

There is evidence that vitamin consumption can lead to stabilization and in some cases repigmentation. Vitiligo patients showed significant improvement in the following clinical studies:

Supplementation with large amounts of folic acid (1-10 mg. per day), vitamin C (1 gram per day) and vitamin B12 injections (1,000 mcg. every other week), produced marked repigmentation in eight of the fifteen people studied. These improvements became apparent after three months, but complete repigmentation required one to two years of continuous supplementation.[i]

Supplementation with folic acid (10 mg. per day) and vitamin B12 (2,000 mcg. per day), combined with sun exposure, resulted in some repigmentation after three to six months in about half of the participants. This combined regimen was more effective than either vitamin supplementation or sun exposure alone.[ii]

At the National Medical University in Kiev, Ukraine, researchers identified copper and zinc are reduced in vitiliginous skin. A topical with copper and zinc was applied to the skin of 12 vitiligo patients, followed by UV light exposure. The results were encouraging. It promoted normalization of skin-pigment function.[iii]

Researcher Juhlin L. Olsson found that "Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation combined with sun exposure can induce repigmentation better than either the vitamins or sun exposure alone" in a study he conducted at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.

Vitamins benefits are both internal and external. They can improve your health and your skin.

It’s still a good idea to make healthy food choices, though. Unfortunately a lot of us don't eat the foods rich in these important nutrients. To help support our capacity for healing, a vitamin and mineral supplement is convenient way to ensure consistent consumption of adequate amounts of recommended vitamins and minerals. Because vitamin supplements are natural, they can even complement a more traditional treatment.

The Recouleur® brand combines these strategic nutrients in one tablet. This supplement is convenient way to ensure you get adequate amounts of these crucial vitamins and minerals. Recouleur® can be used as part of your whole-health approach to managing vitiligo.

Taking vitamin supplements should not be mistaken for a cure. No “magic pill” exists that will spontaneously repigment our white patches. But vitamins can help. Vitamins are a low-commitment therapy and should be part of your first line of attack against vitiligo.

By Audrey VanStockum, President
SuperNatural Health, Inc
P.O. Box 180245
Chicago, IL 60618
866-826-WELL (9355) toll free from the USA and Canada 24 hours a day!

Note: The information contained herein is not intended as medical advice. Readers are encouraged to seek the help of a health-care practitioner.

[i] Montes, Leopoldo F., Vitiligo: Nutritional Therapy, FRCPC Westhoven Press, Buenos Aires, pp. 110-144; 163-172.

[ii] Juhlin L., Olsson M.J. Improvement of vitiligo after oral treatment with vitamin B12 and folic acid and the importance of sun exposure. Acta Derm Venereol 1997:77; pp. 460-2.

[iii] Kolyandenko, V.G., V.N. Korol, O.N. Bakalinskaya, N.T. Kartel,

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