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Apr 11, 2008

Dark Circles under eyes


Dark circles under eyes make us look exhausted and ill. They are very obvious and annoying. They are difficult to cover up and even harder to get rid of. Dark circles under the eyes have various causes, such as: lack of sleep,iron deficiency,diet deficiencies, allergies, prolonged sun exposure,smoking, heredity etc. As a genetic flaw, the shadowy circles can appear as a result of bone structure, hyper-pigmentation or vascular inflammation.

The color of your undereye circles can tell a lot about the cause of it. Bluish dark circles are a result of poor microcirculation , often cause by eye strain and lack of sleep.Brownish dark circles are probably due to too much sun exposure. Too much sun exposure can trigger excessive melanin production.

Such nutrients as iron and vitamin c are commonly found deficiencies in people with fast paced or stressful lifestyle, and most commonly associated with dark circles relating to nutrient deficiency. Another common nutrient culprit is over excessive intake of potassium or sodium. Sodium in particular is found in most of today's fast and packaged food, and extra large intakes of salt contributes to the retention of fluids near the eye area.

Allergies, however, and the circles come and go, so try to figure out what allergies you might have from foods, drinks, sprays, environment, chemicals, gases, or soaps, etc. If you cannot, try to get tested by an Allergist.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is involved in the carboxylation of certain glutamate residues in proteins to form gamma-carboxyglutamate residues. These proteins have in common the requirement to be post-translationally modified by carboxylation of glutamic acid residues (forming gamma-carboxyglutamic acid) in order to become biologically active. These proteins include the vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II (prothrombin), VII (proconvertin), IX (Christmas factor), X (Stuart factor), protein C, protein S, protein Zv and a growth-arrest-specific factor (Gas6). Menadione is a fat-soluble vitamin precursor that is converted into menaquinone in the liver. The primary known function of vitamin K is to assist in the normal clotting of blood, but it may also play a role in normal bone calcificaton. Without vitamin K, the carboxylation does not occur and the proteins that are synthesized are biologically inactive.

Vitamin K is the best vitamin for dark circles. It allow your blood to clot normally,help protect against osteoporosis and prevent oxidative cell damage. Any eye cream or treatment containing vitamin K is considered to be good for dark rings under eyes as this vitamin repairs the blood vessels and mildly bleaches the skin to help fade darker pigments around the eye.

Excellent sources of vitamin K include: spinach, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, kale and mustard greens. Very good sources include green peas and carrots.

Adults need approximately 0.001 mg per kg of body weight a day. So someone who weighs 65 kg would need 0.065 mg per day of vitamin K, while a person who weighs 75 kg would need 0.075 mg per day.


Vitamin C

To minimize the appearance of bags, plump up skin with moisturizer, one that contains vitamin C, an antioxidant that protects skin cells from damage, supports collagen production and keeps them healthy; licorice (or fennel) extract, an anti-inflammatory; and stabilized oxygen, a form of hydrogen peroxide that promotes circulation. Vitamin C also helps the body absorb iron from food

Excellent source of vitamin C include: oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and limes. Other often overlooked excellent sources of vitamin C are strawberries, kiwifruit, cantaloupe, and sweet peppers. Potatoes also supply vitamin C in significant amounts since they are widely consumed by people. Rose hips from the rose plant used to prepare rose hip tea are rich in vitamin C.

You should be able to get all the vitamin C you need from your daily diet. Adults need 40 mg a day.


Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a family of fat-soluble vitamins. It is also known as retinol because it produces the pigments in the retina of the eye. Vitamin A has a number of important functions. It helps maintain the health of skin and mucus linings (in the nose for example), helps strengthen immunity from infections and helps vision in dim light.

Excellent source of vitamin A include: liver and eggs and in some fortified food products such as cold cereal. Other source of vitamin A are apricot, cantaloupe, dried apricots,mango, watermelon, carrot, collards,leaf lettuce,mustard greens, romaine lettuce,spinach,sweet potato, tomato and almonds.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means you don't need it every day because any of the vitamin your body doesn't need immediately is stored for future use. You should be able to get all the vitamin A you need from your daily diet. Vitamin A for men will be 0.7 mg a day for women 0.6 mg a day.


Iron

Iron plays a key role in oxygen transport. When exercising the blood carries oxygen to the working muscles. The components in blood that make this possible are the red blood cells, which contain a protein called hemoglobin which binds to oxygen. Iron is essential to maintaining adequate hemoglobin levels. Iron is an essential mineral.

Excellent sources of iron include: liver, meat, beans, nuts, dried fruit (such as dried apricots), whole grains (such as brown rice), fortified breakfast cereals, soybean flour and most dark green leafy vegetables (such as watercress and curly kale). Some people think that spinach is a good source of iron, but spinach contains a substance that makes it harder for the body to absorb the iron from it.

Eating food containing lots of vitamin C at the same time as you eat food containing iron from non-meat sources might help the body absorb the iron. So you could have fruit juice or fruit with your fortified breakfast cereal, or vegetables with your beans, nuts or rice.

But do becareful when you take iron, too much iron can increase the risk of heart disease. Take iron with vitamin C as vitamin C help the body absorb iron, especially one form of iron called "non-heme" iron.

You should be able to get all the iron you need from your daily diet. For men 8.7 mg a day and for women 14.8 mg a day.


You can try some of the DIY remedies.




  1. Use parsley leaves to make eye masque, you need to make it like a paste-like, leave on for about 15 mins , and rinse off. You can put the masque on everyday till you see some lightening.

  2. Paste of almonds mixed with few drops of milk, it did help with dark circles.

  3. Cut a raw white potato and place it over your eye (10-15 minutes), it naturally bleaches the under eye area. The coldness of potato feels cool and refreshing to your skin and its not harmful, unless your allergic to potatoes.

  4. Apply a paste of turmeric powder with pineapple juice for dark circles under the eyes.

  5. Boil the egg until it is cooked thoroughly. Take out its shell and wrap it with a soft towel. Lie down and close your eyes. Use the hot egg to massage around the eyes. It helps to accelerate the blood circulation around the eyes. Does this a few times till the dark eyes circles have faded away.

  6. Cut some juicy apple rings and spread the rings around the eyes for approximately 15 minutes. Repeat it few times till the dark eyes circles disappeared.

  7. Dip the gauze with some yogurt and spread it around the eyes. Do this each time for ten minutes.

  8. Grate a cucumber, squeeze to take out its juice and refrigerate. Make a mixture of lemon juice , lanolin cream and cucumber juice and apply around the eye for 10-15 minutes

Use a cold compress to get rid of dark circles under the eyes.



  • Cold teaspoons applied on the skin under the eyes also do wonders. Put two clean teaspoons in the fridge and when they are cold lay on your back and put the spoons on the dark circles. They will refresh both the area and the eyes.

  • Cool empty teabags on the skin under the eyes are also a very efficient remedy they calm the skin and prevent it from swelling. Of the full herbal teabags the most recommended in treating dark circles are the ones that contain chamomile. Chamomile tea is a natural anti-inflammatory that will leave your face brighter and less swollen.

Besides the remedies applied on the skin under the eyes there are also simple massage techniques that can be performed on your own at home.


For example, place the ring fingers at the inner corners of the eyes and press gently for a few times; then move the fingers towards the outer corner of the eyes (the temples). Mildly press the skin with the middle fingers all the way from the inner to the outer corner of the eyes. This will calm down the inflamed areas under the eyes.


Here is a recipes which help with dark circles.


Ingredients:


250g carrot


1 orange


1/2 tsp honey


Method:
Place carrot and orange into a blender and blend well. Add honey and blend well.
Drink once a day in the morning with an empty stomach.

2 comments:

Margarita G. said...

there are lots of treatments available today in market to reduce wrinkles and dark circles its hard to find a good one, I recommend natural preventions.

Anonymous said...

I seldom leave comments on blog, but I have been to this post which was recommended by my friend, lots of valuable details, thanks again.

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