Have you ever awoke from a well rested sleep and looked in the mirror to discover that you had horrible dark circles under your eyes? At first, you may try to understand why these dark circles made their unwelcoming appearance on your face in the first place. One of your initial reactions might be to think you had left your eye make up on before you went to bed. Then you realize, this wasn’t the case.  What you are seeing are the swollen capillaries underneath the eyes that cause this dark discoloration.

So, what are the reasons and causes for dark circles under the eyes? Well, there are a few factors to consider when discussing dark circles and where they originate. Let’s first take a look at the environmental causes.

Causes for Dark Circles Under the Eyes- Environmental Factors

• If you have sensitive skin or allergies to skin products, both can cause dark circles under the eyes. You may also be allergic to some of the chemicals and ingredients found within your eye-makeup. If your eye-makeup is not hypoallergenic, it can irritate the delicate skin underneath the eyes. These ingredients can also irritate the mucus membranes in the eyes and cause an allergic reaction, which is visibly apparent through the onset of dark circles.

Environmental and Man Made Allergens

• Another type of allergy that is associated with the eyes are seasonal allergies and pollen allergies. If you are susceptible to hay-fever, this can also cause dark circles under the eyes, especially during the spring time. This usually happens when flowers are blooming and release pollen. The pollen falls onto the ground and is lifted into the air when the wind blows.  These tiny pollen particles, no matter how small they may be, make their way into your eyes and cause eye irritation.

Lack of sleep or Too Much Sleep can Cause Dark Circles

• Lack of sleep or too much sleep also causes dark circles underneath the eyes. By sleeping too much the face is in constant contact with your pillow. If you are the type of sleeper who sleeps on your belly this friction against the face and the eye cavities can cause darkness underneath the eyes. You may also notice an increase in puffiness around the eye area.

Stay Hydrated to Help Prevent Dark Discoloration Under the Eyes

• Dehydration is another environmental cause for those unsightly dark circles under the eyes. If your body does not have a sufficient amount of fluids it can cause a decrease in circulation; poor circulation causes the blood vessels in the eyes to look much more noticeable. When you are hydrated, you are less likely to develop dark circles underneath the eyes. Water also helps flush out any toxins within the body. Drinking enough water keeps your skin and body well-hydrated.

Now that we have covered the environmental factors that contribute to dark circles, lets take a look at some of the biological factors that cause these unsightly dark circles under the eyes.

Causes for Dark Circles Under the Eyes- Biological Factors

You can thank good old mom and dad for inheriting this beauty blunder. The truth is, if one or both of your parents have dark circles, you are more susceptible to having them as well.

People with Darker Skin Tones are More Likely to Have Dark Circles

• People with darker skin tones are more likely to have dark circles than people with average or fair skin tones. This is due to excess amount of melanin in the skin, which causes the hyperpigmentation associated with dark skin underneath the eyes.

Iron Deficiency May also be the Cause of Dark Circles

• An iron deficiency can also be indicated by the sudden onset of dark circles. When this happens a vitamin supplement should help correct this discoloration. You can even try adding some vitamin enriched green leafy vegetables such as kale and broccoli, which are jam packed with iron. If you notice you are constantly plagued with dark circles, you might want to consult a doctor to make sure that your dark circles are not a symptom of a more serious underlying health issue.

The more you know about what causes dark circles underneath the eyes, the better off you are finding ways to correct them. By following some of these guidelines you should be able to determine why your dark circles exist. You can then figure out what type of treatment is beneficial for you to help diminish unsightly skin discolorations associated with the delicate eye area.

The top five cancer-causing foods are:

1. Hot dogs
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can’t live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate .

2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams .

5. Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar Consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

Reasons for sleeping and waking up early.

Evening at 9 – 11pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes).. This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health

Evening at 11pm – 1am: is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 – 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 – 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 – 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 – 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time.
Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick.

Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 – 10am rather than no meal at all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don’t sleep late.

The main causes of liver damage are:

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2.. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time conditions are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to ‘schedule.’