People, mostly women, spend thousands of dollars on creams and peels to get rid of dark, puffy under eye circles. Even young people, or those with generally good skin, can have dark circles that distract cosmetically, but reveal some deeper health issues.
From a natural medicine point of view, under eye circles are a symptom of a strong blood reaction to something in the body. In Chinese medicine, they indicate kidney stagnation, and possible adrenal fatigue.
But what is causing the kidneys to be stagnant may not be bacteria-based, but may be fungus or chemicals—or food sensitivities.
In my experience, most conditions around the eye area are dairy allergy or sensitivity. However, I have seen eye issues be wheat and grain-based, also. The inflammation response to the food in question causes the kidney stagnation, and will stress the adrenals, making the person tired and adding extra strain on the immune system. Adrenals are not only hormone producers, they also govern inflammation response, and so are a significant factor in allergies and asthma as well as general immune health. That is one of the reasons that getting enough sleep is so important. Staying up past 11 pm and getting fewer than eight hours of sleep puts stress on the adrenal glands. So does eating sugar and using drugs (including pharmaceutical meds) and alcohol.
The way to test this yourself is to eliminate all dairy for 3-4 weeks. It is best to get rid of everything except butter, including yogurt, cheese, ice-cream and cow’s milk-even organic. (Eggs are not dairy products, despite their position on the government-approved food pyramid!)
There are non-dairy ice creams that are yummy, based on coconut milk, almond milk, etc. I do not recommend soy-based foods of any kind. So-Delicious even makes a couple of coconut ice creams that have stevia instead of sugar. And they also make a coconut creamer that is an acceptable substitute for cream in your coffee. Check on Amazon and you can get powdered coconut creamers to carry with you for coffee when you are at the office or out. Don’t use chemical-based non-dairy creamers.
Drink extra water, get some exercise, and see if you notice an improvement in your under eye circles, fatigue, bloating and elimination.
After 3-4 weeks, eat a significant amount of dairy in one day, any of your choosing. Notice how your body responds. You may notice increased gas an bloating, changes in stool, and puffiness under the eyes. That is your body’s inflammation response to dairy.
If you reactive to dairy, I suggest that you then eliminate all dairy products for several months. You may then be able to add in small amounts of high quality dairy. Look for raw cheeses, and organic raw milk and cream at health food stores. Even Trader Joe’s has some raw cheese.
Can you use goat-based products? That is hard to say. Test in the same way and observe what happens. Generally goat does not cause the same issues, because goats are not treated the same way cows are, and the protein is more easily tolerated by many.
Commercial dairy products have been adulterated by greedy farming methods that compromise the health of our cows, and use chemicals and poisons on our farms. We might not need this conversation if we had all been raised on dairy products produced the way Nature intended. Humans have been consuming dairy-based foods since they first learned to milk herd animals. Adults usually do fine on fermented or cultured dairy products in their natural state.
Adding cod liver oil, or natural Vitamin D, may help with food sensitivities. And enzymes, like Zypan or Multizyme, are a must.
But our digestion and immune systems have been assaulted by the food industries lack of responsibility for our health, and by our own cravings for the Frankenstein foods created in the laboratories.
Stagnation and congestion in the body are the pools that breed disease states, so do this not just so you lose the dark circles, but so you lose the dark pools inside where more serious conditions might brew.
If you would like to find our more specifically about your own dark circles or food sensitivities, this can be tested. Call the office to book at 818-562-1400.