Nobody likes to have puffiness or swelling around the eyes. It can make you look tired, stressed…or even make you look older!
There are three common causes of puffiness around the eyes, so to get rid of them you will first need to identify why they’re there…
– Water retention
– Lack of sleep
– Allergy
Water Retention
Water retention causes puffiness under the eyes in exactly the same way as it causes bloating in the lower abdominal. The best way to stop this from happening is to make sure you keep hydrated by drinking lots of water.
There are also some foods which will help to flush out this water which are called ‘diuretics’. These are natural foods and herbs, rich in vitamin B, that aid fluid removal from the body. They are most commonly found in high protein and green, leafy foods.
If you think you are suffering from water retention, try eating a protein rich diet that includes some of these diuretic foods:
– brown rice
– wholegrain cereals
– spinach and cabbage
– watercress
– asparagus
– beetroot
– green tea
If you want strong results, you should be strict on your diet. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Breakfast:
– wholegrain cereal with a glass of fruit juice
Lunch:
– smoky bacon and watercress soup and a crusty brown bread roll
Dinner:
– grilled chicken with fluffy brown rice, and creamed spinach or cabbage.
You should also be wary of your salt and sugar in take, as too much of either can significantly increase your level of body water retention.
Lack of Sleep
A more temporary cause of puffiness under eyes is sleep deprivation. This swelling is often at its worst in the morning and, if you have time amongst all the morning madness, can be easily reduced in a matter of minutes.
Leave two metal spoons in your fridge overnight to tackle any potential morning puffiness. Simply place them on top of your closed eyes, so the groove fits over your eye sockets, tilt your head back and wait for 2-3 minutes.
If you wear make-up, you should make sure that you do this first as it will nicely tighten and firm the skin under your eye.
If your morning puffiness is persistent, make sure that you are keeping your body hydrated and think about changing your diet to contain more diuretic foods, richer in vitamin B (see above), and reducing your salt and sugar intake.
Allergy
Allergies are a very common cause of swelling around the eyes…but many people don’t know this.
If you have puffiness underneath your eyes that doesn’t appear reduced by any of the above remedies, book a visit with your doctor as it may be the case that you have an allergy you don’t know about. They will be able to advise you on the best measures to take.
