Celeb Health Coach Luke Coutinho Reveals All About Dark Circles: Causes, Treatments And Link With Kidney Diseases

Do you see dark skin beneath your eyes? Dark circles are downright unattractive! But the worst part is that they speak volumes about your health. You might feel that this is just due to lack of sleep but the truth is far from this belief. Through a recent Facebook live, Celebrity health coach Luke Coutinho spoke about dark circles, their causes and how they can be treated. Health coach Luke started off by talking about how creams and cosmetics available in the market promise that they can lighten the skin under your eyes. However, it is important to understand that concealing dark circles with make-up is not the solution. Instead, you could be masking a bigger problem. When you continue to mask these problems and bring it to a symptomatic level, you end up missing the root cause of the problem. That root cause could actually be something serious. Now it does not necessarily mean that a person with dark circles has a serious health problem but it is better to take caution. You need to figure out the link between your health condition and the dark circles. In some cases, dark circles can be hereditary. However, that does not happen in all cases. So people must not escape from a health problem simply by saying that it is hereditary. Even if it is genetic, you can always take steps to reduce your risk.

How are dark circles formed?

Health coach Luke says that the skin beneath your eyes is the thinnest skin in the human body. Under this skin, a network of capillaries is present. Red blood cells pass from these capillaries throughout your body. Sometimes the red blood cells queue up over the capillaries and little bit of leakage takes place. An enzyme can clear this out leaving the skin blackish-grey or blackish-blue. The same thing happens when an injury is in the healing process.

What are the causes of dark circles?

Coach Luke Coutinho explained that dark circles form due to a number of reasons. You need to figure out what your reason is and then work towards it in order to get rid of these dark circles.

1. Sleep and stress

Everything rests when you sleep, says Luke. The lesser your sleep, the lesser rest your body gets, including your eyes. This is why when you are having a disturbed night, you wake up with puffy eyes. Stress, however, is not a cause of dark circle. Rather, it is a contributing factor for the causes of dark circles.

2. Toxic accumulation

A lot of healing and detoxification takes place when you sleep. However, when you fail to sleep properly, the toxins in your body starts accumulating. These put load on your kidneys and liver. However, when you sleep properly, your body detoxifies naturally and your body becomes lighter. Stress, lack of sleep and toxic accumulation is a vicious cycle; one feeds into another.

Also read: 9 Signs Your Liver Needs A Detox

3. Sinusitis

A link can be established between sinusitis and dark circles. Sinus patients have to deal with a lot of blockage of blood flow around the eyes. Due to improper blood flow, dark circles can develop.

4. Staring at screens for too long

Staring at phone screens, computer screens and screens of other gadgets can put a lot of pressure on your eyes. If you have a job where you need to stare at the computer screen for too long, take a break every hour, close your eyes and massage them for a couple of minutes. Or you can shift your eyes from the screen and look around to give your eyes a break.

5. Low hemoglobin levels

Low hemoglobin levels could be an important contributing factor for dark circles. This happens due to an iron deficiency which could expose you to a greater risk of anemia. So no matter how often you succeed in hiding these dark circles, keep in mind that what you are actually doing is masking an underlying problem which could actually become serious.

6. Liver problems

People with liver problems like fatty liver, hepatitis, cerotic and sluggish livers might also develop dark circles. Liver is the most important organ in the human body which gives you clues if it is not functioning the right way. So you need to watch out for the symptoms and see if your SGOT and SGPT levels are fine or not. Liver problems can give rise to stress, sleep problems, inability to lose weight, gastrointestinal problems and more.

7. Dehydration

When your body's water levels are lower than what your body requires, it can lead to a number of problems including dark circles. Even a 1% drop in your body's water levels can cause a number of health problems. It is important for you to focus on internal hydration by drinking lots of water. External hydration through cucumber slices work but only temporarily, says Luke.

8. Lack of vitamins

Dark circles may also take place due to lack of vitamin A, E, C and K. Luke explains that even a deficiency in one nutrient can cause many health problems. These problems can reflect in skin and hair quality, energy levels and for some, it is visible in all these problems.

Also read: 10 Best Multivitamins For Men

Dark circles and kidney problems

Health coach Luke stresses on the link between dark circles and kidney problems. He says that if you have suddenly developed dark circles, or are not able to get rid of them or if they are getting darker day by day, then you need to check the health of your kidneys. Kidney problems stem from dehydration. Your kidneys need lots of water in order to function properly. Not drinking enough water can slow down kidney function and the speed at which toxins are eliminated. Over time, toxins start accumulating in the body. People with chronic kidney and renal diseases often have dark circles. So dark circles are an important symptom you need to watch out for the possibility of kidney disease. The only thing you need to do in order to keep your kidneys in a good state of health is detoxify them. Drinking lots of water is one of the best ways to detox the kidneys which are working all day long.

Also read: Can Dialysis Cure Kidney Problems: All You Should Know About It

What are the best ways to reduce dark circles?

Health coach Luke recommends some of the best ways of reducing dark circles. These include:

1. Tea bags

Take a chamomile tea bag or a black tea bag and soak it in warm water. Allow it to cool or keep it in the refrigerator. Keep it on your eyes where the dark circles are and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Do this for 10-12 days; anything which is natural takes time to work.

2. Watermelon seeds

Get watermelon seeds from your grocer, they're brownish white in colour and boil 250 grams of these seeds in some water. Continue to boil it till the water turns dark brown. Cool this drink and have about 200 to 250 ml of it twice a day. Do this for three to four days but check with your doctor once if it is safe to proceed with it or not.

Watermelon seeds can help you reduce dark circles
 

3. Parsley and coriander

Take equal portions of both parsley and coriander, add a little bit of lemon and have two or three shots of this drink for a couple of days. Have a 200 ml shot at a time. If you have kidney problems like deficiency of potassium levels, check with your doctor or nutritionist before proceeding with this remedy.

4. Turmeric

Turmeric is known as yellow gold for a very good reason. It is extremely beneficial for your kidney and liver.

5. Some more remedies

Luke also recommends apple cider vinegar, beetroots, garlic, carrots and fruits and vegetables. Anything raw and natural has the ability to cleanse your kidneys and liver naturally. The perfect detox juice recommended by Luke consists of garlic, carrots, beetroot and apple cider vinegar.

To conclude, Luke recommends everyone to feed the roots with nutritious food and keep oneself healthy on the inside to look healthy on the outside.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.