Dark Circles under eyes!

[beck1m]

Hi all,
I've searched through these message boards for information on what foods help with dark circles under the eyes. I have been on about 70 % raw food for 6 months and 100% for 4 weeks. I still have dark circles under my eyes and they don't seem to be getting any better.

So I'd love some advice, suggestions on anything to help with these.

xx Beck

[KitaKazoo]

My partner has unusually dark circles under his eyes all of his life and didn't think he'd ever see them anyother way. Then they went away on their own after about 6 months of 100% raw. Came back with cooked foods. Kita

[flutterfly]

usually dark circles around the eyes is an indication of a yeast infection.

[Wendy]

Also, dark circles can mean allergies (I had them severely as a child), and they tend to show up easily because the skin is so thin there.

[Punky]

I have read that dark circles can be from allergies. My son has numerous
food allergies and had dark circles when younger. They have improved greatly since we restrict so many foods.
He also has high yeast intestinally, so perhaps it is from that too. That would also make sense and be conclusive to when the improvements took place--thanks Flutterfly!

[Amethyst_Rain]

hm...i also have dark circles, and allergies...although the allergies pretty much went away now...i still have the circles...i think i don't get enough sleep though...that could be it...i also heard it's vit.C deficiency

[caramba]

He also has high yeast intestinally, so perhaps it is from that too.

How do you know if you/someone has high yeast intestinally?? And is Raw the answer if you do?

Thanks

[hmacias]

I was told by my doctor that the dark circles under my eyes were cause by allergies as well. I just thought it was because I am part Israeli/Jewish. Who knows? If they go away because of raw, great cause I hate trying to cover them up with make-up. They have always been a problem for me. I also wake up sometimes where it looks like I was punched in the eye!

[vegangelist]

it is also somewhat genetic....a predisposition towards them....they run in my family...i still have em and have had them since i was a kid, but that would be great if they would go away.....and might really be a selling point for my sister (whose are worse than mine) who is "raw-curious" :)

kristi

[Punky]

Caramba,
You asked "How do you know if you/someone has high yeast intestinally?? And is Raw the answer if you do?"

My son did a lot of labwork at The Great Plains Lab.
The organic acid test showed that he had elevated levels
of yeast. They specialize in Autism and ADHD, and other developmental
stuff. Alot of kids like this do; something with their damaged immune
systems. He takes nystatin occasionally for it. And probiotics is
a must. Also some natural antifungals like grapefruit seed extract.
He eats a lot of raw, but is not entirely raw at all. I'm sure he would
benefit greatly from an all raw diet, but we are not there yet ;)
He is very low sugar though.

Not sure how you would go about finding out for adults.
I think their are a few websites you could research.I've seen some lists of things to look for to tell if one has yeast issues on the sites. If I think of any
i will send a link. I know I read on this board about a few folks that
have candida; so maybe they would know more.

I also get dark circles as well as both of my boys.
They seem to come and go as far as severity. I think ours
are food allergies. I am also half asian descent (Vietnamese)
so don't know if that has anything to do with it?!?!?
I think a lot of things influence them though including perhaps
ethnic background, allergies, yeast, sleep patterns, heredity.

Good Luck on your quest.
HTH

[Sweet lips]

Thanks for the question and the answers. I was also told that it was a "dirty" liver and this all goes together. Wow another reason to stay raw. I really appreciate this thread.

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Dark circles are also a symptom of weak or insuffient adrenal glands.

Whatever the cause is, hopefully when you have been raw long enough they should start clearning up.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[beck1m]

HI all, thanks so much for your replies. It has really helped me to think about what is going on in my body with the dark circles. I really don't believe they are hereditary, but to do with something not working properly inside!

I've tried to post a reply a few times, but this forum has crashed my computer. HOpefully this time it will go through!
KitaKazoo - Oh no I have to wait that long to get rid of them!! ;)
flutterfly - A yeast infection. Even if you are eating no yeast products? Does the yeast stay in the body for quite some time?
Wendy- Allergies, I've heard this too. Where can you go and get tested for allergies?
amethyst- rain - I've heard about Vit C too and sleeping. Will have to try that one too.
hmacias - I'm going to Israel soon. My partner is Israeli, have you been over there much? I love it, such an amazing place.
vegangelist - Thanks for your mentioning hereditary . Maybe it is something not quite right in your body, that is hereditary.
Helen of Tennesse - adrenal glands, where can I get more information on them?
sweet lips - dirty liver too! I've heard kidneys. Very interesting

Now I hope they go away!!! I can't wait to look like I'm super healthy.

Has anyone had a problem with pimples since they went raw? my chin is going a bit crazy and I usually only get one or two around that time of the month. It's driving me insane to have this many pimples as I'm 30!!

thanks all, I appreciate the responses
Beck

[flutterfly]

Yes, the yeast can stay a long time. It comes from eating a lot of sugar which causes the yeast.

[Wendy]

I'm 39 and since adding more raw my whole forehead broke out in small hard pimples, something I have never had before. You should find an allergist if you want testing. I have a feeling raw will deal with the allergies though.

[askcassyfirst]

You asked about adrenals:

There is a great book called "Adrenal Fatigue, the 21st century stress syndrome."

They have a website, http://adrenalfatigue.org/
The website is very informative.

and the book is probably available at libraries. It goes over in laymans terms all about the adrenals...I highly recommend it.

Diet is TOTALLY involved with adrenals, as is stress. When you have this condition your immune system is compromised giving rise to things such as candida & parasitic infections.

Cassy :)

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Here is the website that shows that a symptom of weak adrenals are circle under the eyes:

Adrenal Glands symptoms vs. Thyroid symptoms
http://www.drrind.com/symptoms.asp

Here are a couple of good articles on adrenals (I have many more should you want them):

Low Adrenal Function / Adrenal Insufficiency
http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C17649.html

Dr. Jefferies “Safe Uses of Cortisol”
http://hometown.aol.com/jefferiesw/index.html

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[RawTruth]

Beck ~~ To find out more about yeast (candida) as it's been discussed on this forum, use the Search function, entering in "candida" and you will see many threads that have dealt with it here. By the way, there seems to be two theories about what allows it to overgrow in our bodies;one lays the blame on carbohydrates=sugar, and the other says fat is the culprit.

The bumps/pimples could very likely be your body detoxing. (There's been lots of discusson in various threads about that, too.) All the raw books discuss it, also. I'm not really used to using % to gauge my diet, but I guess I'd been 90% raw for months until I went totally raw close to 3 weeks ago. It was only then that my body started detoxing. Have you experienced any detox symptoms in the last 4 weeks?

[Wendy]

Also, there is an adrenal support over the counter supplement I take in conjunction with my thyroid meds. Since you do not know how the thryoid will effect every tissue (some will be over stimulated, some under) and the thyroid can affect adrenal function, this helps it. It is called Isocort. Here's some info: http://www.vitaminmd.com/isocort.htm.

It is not vegetarian/vegan....so probably not a likely choice for many here. I would prefer not to take it, but it is necessary to my health right now.

[caramba]

Yes, the yeast can stay a long time. It comes from eating a lot of sugar which causes the yeast.

This is refined sugar or even sugar occurring in fruits?

[Sweet lips]

Our skin is the largest living organ that we have, and as we detox, stuff happens. It usually goes in phases - the first round , pimple up, boil ease, ordor, etc, and then it clears. As we continue the cleansing process it will happen again and again - each time rest assured that the crisis will be shortened, but can be extemly intensive. Keep cleaning, you are doing the best for you. Now the intersting thing is that I will probably write :eek: :eek: a call out the armed forces, my face has just become the thing. I am expecting a pretty powerful detox coming about and will need the support to stay the course. So please remind me if start to trip

[beck1m]

Helen of Tennessee, Wendy and askcassyfirst - I've been reading up on Adrenals and my god!! it all sounds so familiar, the lack of energy, problems with sleeping, going through quite a depression after a big relationship breakup a couple of years ago. I even have strange pigment on my face, and acne around periods is terrible. I'll have to look more into this. I would love it if you posted more links! Wow I was wondering why I am not feeling better, why my energy hasn't improved or sleeping or lots of other things.
Have you both been tested for weak adrenals? If so how are you feeling now after taking the vitamins or other meds??

[beck1m]

Rawtruth, flutterfly - Thanks for that information, I will do some searches on yeast

[beck1m]

Sweetlips - good luck with your detoxing. I've done the 2 week OJ cleanse/diet twice in the last 4 months or so. NOw thats some full on detoxing!! But I always feel so much lighter and cleaner towards the end of a detox. Got to love em!!

[flutterfly]

[caramba]This is refined sugar or even sugar occurring in fruits
It can be sugar from any source. I have to have a yeast infection going on because my ears are full of fluid. Been eating a lot of bananas lately. :(

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi Beck1m,

I was tested (saliva) and found I had weak, insufficient adrenals. I only had 2 of the symptoms - fatigue and the hyperpigmentations (on my midriff area).

About 2 weeks of being on Cortef, my fatigue lifted, totally. Just over night, it was wonderful. Then about 2 months on it, the hyperpigmentation (which I had for about 5 years) was gone. I was on the Cortef for 1 year and was retested after being off of it and my adrenal were normal.

Here are some more of the adrenal/thyroid articles:

The hidden reasons why you may still not feel well – Mary Shomen’s article
http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aaadrenal.htm

The Adrenal - Thyroid Connection - Drs. Richard and Karilee Shames
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.thyroid%2Dinfo.com/articles/shamesadrenal.htm

Gail’s Thyroid Tips – Adrenals
http://personal.jax.bellsouth.net/w/u/wurmstei/#ADREN

Thyroid/Adrenal – Krispin – Clinical Nutritionist
http://www.krispin.com/thyroid.html

Seven Ways to Balance Your Immune System
Healing Autoimmune Thyroid Disease May Start with the Immune System
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.thyroid%2Dinfo.com/articles/immunebalance.htm

Again, eating all raw should take care of weak/insufficient adrenal glands, but if you are fatigued to the point where you can't even function, I'd get treated and wean off the meds, just so you can live a normal life while your body is healing itself from the raw diet.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[beck1m]

Helen of Tennesse - Thanks so much for your great information and links. I have been reading them with great interest. Now I"m looking for a place in my city to go and get tested. Thank you so much.

Beck

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi Beck1M,

I'm going to PM you. (hopefully I can figure out how to do this).

There are different tests and I just want to share them with you.

<>< Helen of Tennessee