Look younger by getting rid of those dark circles
Most people assume that getting older or just not getting enough sleep are the culprits behind dark circles. Yes, dark circles under and around the eyes can be due to lack of sleep, but a lot of times it is because of your diet or an allergy. The lack of nutrients in the diet coming from nutrient dense foods can contribute to the discoloration of the area under the eyes.

Iron Deficiency
Dark circles under the eyes can be caused by anemia, which makes the skin look pale and the area around the eyes look darker. The most common cause of anemia is from not getting enough iron in the diet to make the right amount of red blood cells the body needs. Eat foods such as red meats, green leafy vegetables, beans, raisins, iron-fortified cereals, eggs, and whole-grain breads that contain iron, if you are deficient.

Dehydration
Dark circles can also form due to dehydration. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces in water everyday. There is no stressing this enough. If you do not drink water everyday, you are not providing your body with as much water as it requires for flushing out toxins. Do not wait until you are thirsty before drinking up. By the time your body cries ‘I’m thirsty!’, you are already dehydrated.

Caffeine
Caffeinated beverages may need to be eliminated from your diet. Caffeinated beverages may stimulate your hormonal glands causing exhaustion and fatigue if consumed too often, producing adrenal exhaustion. A good way to gauge this is to ask yourself if you are addicted to soda and/or coffee? Do you find that you "need" them in order to function? If so, you probably need to cut them down.

Hormonal Changes
During menopause, or menstruation, hormonal changes in the body can induce eye puffiness and dark circles. Here at Caring Medical we can check your hormone levels to determine if you have any imbalances that may be contributing to this problem, among others.

Not getting enough sleep
If you are having trouble sleeping, it could be due to caffeine or sugar, which can keep you awake at night. Also drinking any liquids right before bedtime might make you wake up during the night to use the bathroom, which could keep you from getting a full night’s rest. A lack of sleep or excessive tiredness can cause paleness of the skin, which again allows the blood underneath the skin to become more visible and appear more blue or darker, especially under the eyes.

Allergies
Allergies can also cause dark circles. You could be allergic to a chemical you may be cleaning with, or a pet, food, or food additives.

An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to a substance that's harmless to most people. But in someone with an allergy, the body's immune system treats the substance (called an allergen) as an invader and reacts inappropriately, resulting in symptoms that can be anywhere from annoying to possibly harmful to the person. Certain foods could cause an allergy, but you may not even know you are allergic. You do not have to have a big reaction to have a food allergy. A reaction to a food can happen as long as three days after the certain food was consumed.

If you suspect the dark circles are due to allergies, we have an allergy tests here for foods, environmental, and chemical allergies.