Best Food to Reduce Melanin and Improve Your Skin Health

Table of content: How to Reduce Melanin in Skin?

• Does Diet Affect Skin Health?
• Foods that Decrease Melanin Content
• Avoid Foods that Increase Melanin
• But Keep in Mind: A Specific Amount of Melanin in the Body Is Necessary!
• Best Foods to Make your Skin Glow
• The Bottom Line

Skincare with melanin reducing foods

No matter how many costly therapies you opt for or the skin ointments that promise you fair and healthy glowing skin, a lack of proper diet will keep you yearning for a skin free of pigmentation and undesired melanin concentration.

While there are plenty of cosmetics dubbing themselves as essential skin foods, an honest opinion that most skin experts give that the way to a pigment-free healthy complexion does not start from a bottle. While the topical aids will act as a temporary beauty fix, the real deal lies in what you eat and what you avoid eating.

While the trick is to gorge on melanin reducing foods, you must consciously take care to avoid eating foods that increase melanin. The right diet can be a valuable aid to those tackling hyperpigmentation problems due to excessive melanin content in the body.

Feel free to ask our skin specialists and dermatologists at Clear Skin, Pune. Book a consultation with our doctors or call +91 2071177333 to visit at our skin clinic near you.

Does Diet Affect Skin Health?

How the nutrition in your diet can help rejuvenate your skin and which foods contain melanin are the two most common questions that everyone asks. While everyone talks about myriad skin treatment options, a proper diet remains the most underestimated way to great skin health. A proper diet ensures a nutritional balance that allows a natural bright glow to radiate from within. A blemish-free skin quality ups your confidence and self-esteem, and that is why you must be careful of what you eat.

In India, the most common skin problem occurs due to the intake of melanin-rich foods that lends the skin to lose its glow. However, excessive melanin production can trigger skin problems like hyperpigmentation. Other than continued sun exposure, other factors that may result in greater melanin content in the body include hormonal influences, age, and skin injuries or inflammation. Including melanin decreasing foods in your daily diet can help. 

Foods that Decrease Melanin Content 

Making simple changes to your routine diet can optimize the melanin content in your body. If you’re curious to know which foods reduce melanin content, you can consult our nutritional experts. 

As per our experts, there are no particular foods that contain melanin, however, food items rich in Vitamins A, C, E, and K have a considerable depreciating effect on your body’s melanin production.

Experts also recommend compulsory inclusion of the following melanin decreasing food items in your regular diet:

• Cheese 
• Eggs
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Pumpkin
• Ginger
• Chia seeds
• Oatmeal

Inclusion of the aforementioned melanin-reducing food items in your diet can work wonders if consumed regularly, though it takes time to see the effect of the essential nutrients needed to control melanin production. Taking a Vitamin C supplement can also help if fruits containing vitamin C are not available. Regular intake of foods that decrease melanin and keeping a check on melanin content in food can ensure good skin throughout. 

Avoid Foods that Increase Melanin

salad bowl

While continued sun exposure increases the melanin content in the body, eating melanin-rich foods prompts more production of this pigment. Some of the commonly available melanin foods that you may avoid include:

• Green leafy vegetables: These top the melanin foods list as the antioxidants in them have the most potential to enhance melanin production. Other than the green leafy vegetables, you may avoid eating anti-oxidant rich foods, dark berries, and dark chocolate to avoid high melanin content.
• Foods rich in Vitamin A: Though research studies do not directly associate more Vitamin A intake with increased melanin content in the body, some studies suggest that this vitamin so essential to good skin also leads to more melanin secretion. This is because Vitamin A also functions as an anti-oxidant, so many researchers include them in the list of melanin production food items.

But Keep in Mind: A Specific Quantity of Melanin in the Body Is Necessary!

While many people prefer lighter shade skin over a dark complexion, the importance of melanin content in the body must not be underrated. Research results have underscored the effect of melanin in protecting the skin from the Sun’s harmful UV rays. Besides, the pigment lends a deep, dark luster to your hair as well that many of us vie for. Increased age causes low melanin production, thus, causing gray hair.  

Best Foods to Make your Skin Glow

Dermatologists opine that you must not compromise on a quality diet for quality skin health. While genetics and external factors play a great role in determining your skin quality, what you eat has a direct impact on how you look. Believe it or not, some foods can also act as superfoods for your skin making it glow bright and healthy. 

Fruits to reduce melanin

The idea is to eat the right food items in the right quantities, which means that we must not compromise on including high-quality proteins, lots of fiber, healthy oil, raw fruits, dry fruits, vegetables, and spices that support healthy skin. Besides, include food items rich in amino acid content that promote active skin cell building and act to tighten the facial skin. Avoid fatty items like foods fried deep in oil as they can cause damage to your skin by causing dark patches, inflammation, and hyperpigmentation.

So, next time you make that grocery list, make sure that you add food items that lend you a glow by acting on the melanin content in the body to reduce it, thus, giving you an enviable effervescent glow that you had always wanted. 

The Bottom Line

While including the natural ingredients in your food or using the right facial cream can help reduce melanin content, simple routine changes can also help you from increased melanin production like avoiding sun exposure for prolonged periods or not applying sunscreen lotion before going out in the sun.

Prefer using a water-resistant sunscreen lotion with an SPF of more than 30. Also, staying indoors from 10 am to 2 pm when the sun is at its peak helps limit melanin content due to sun exposure. Indoor tanning beds can also contribute to increased melanin content, and hence, you must avoid them. Wearing full-sleeved clothes or covering the face with big sunglasses can help against unwanted tanning. 

If you are looking for a systematic and proven procedure to help treat your skin pigmentation, you can definitely opt for ClearSkin Clinic. Book an appointment to visit our skin clinic near you!