What Really Causes Puffy Eyes

Dr. Eric Berg 11/14/2023

Today, I will talk about how to get rid of those eye bags naturally and the connection of puffy eyes to your kidneys and blood sugar.

In this article:

Kidney Problems
Blood Sugar

Knowing the Causes of Eye Bags

1. Kidney Problems

I just want to let you know that cucumber slices don’t really work long term. Eye bags or under-eye circles are all about internal problems, specifically kidney problem.

I see people on the streets, and they have baggy eyes. Anytime you have a kidney issue, you also have a liver problem. They are similar problems. You can’t have a really sick kidney and a healthy liver at the same time because they both work together. To know why you may develop kidney problems, here are several causes:

Excessive Cooked Protein

One contributor to kidney problem is when you consume too much cooked protein. Your kidney is a detoxifier, and it basically takes all your blood, like an oil filter, and filters it. So, here’s what happens with your kidneys. When you consume too much cooked protein, it will turn into excessive waste because your body cannot process any excess amount of protein. It primarily strains the kidneys and the liver. You only need 3-6 ounces of protein each meal.

Lack of Vegetable Intake

Vegetables washing, splashing water, fresh salad preparation | What Really Causes Puffy Eyes and Bags?

People with puffy eyes or bags under eyes usually eat too few vegetables.

You might want to eat more veggies because they affect the level of potassium in the body. So, when you have just a normal amount of potassium in your body, that will flush out the sodium excess and get rid of fluid retention. We need four times as much potassium than sodium.

A lot of people have so much more sodium than potassium where they commonly have edema.

Edema Definition: A swelling condition caused by excess fluid retained in the tissues of the body.

Alcohol

Alcohol is also another contributor as it messes with your kidney and liver and creates the bags and dark circles. Learn about the main causes and remedies to dark circles under the eyes in this article. A lot of people think it’s normal to drink alcohol on a regular basis, but the question is can they give up drinking? If not, then they are already addicted to it.

One of the harmful substances your kidneys filter is alcohol. Alcohol can trigger changes in the kidneys’ function and make the filtering less effective. Your kidneys also maintain the right amount of water in the body, and when alcohol enters your system, the ability of your kidneys to do this is negatively affected. The dehydration effect of alcohol also affects the normal function of the kidneys, cells, and other organs.

Constant drinking may lead to liver disease as well, which adds to your kidneys’ job. Normally, your blood flow rate is kept at a certain level, so your kidneys can do the filtering well. But, when liver disease happens, the balancing process is impaired.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

MSG is a flavor enhancer, and manufacturers hide it as modified food starch. It’s a lot of sodium that’s not salty and is a water retainer. This also spikes Fat Storing Hormone levels. Sugar and junk foods are going to mess up your kidneys, too.

Prostate Enlargement

Male doctor discussing reports with senior patient | What Really Causes Puffy Eyes and Bags?

Another cause of kidney problems is prostate enlargement. When the prostate enlarges, it pushes up into the bladder and restricts the amount of urine the bladder can hold. The urine then backs up into the pipes called the ureters that go right into the kidney. Then, the kidneys can’t filter the urine, so it backs up into the kidney, and the organ gets larger.

I had one guy, and all we did was a little acupressure working on some pressure points in the body. You do it lightly, and you keep working it out. I’ve had so many people do that, and all of a sudden, they just dumped all this excess fluid from their bodies.

Potassium Does Not Damage the Kidneys

We need 4,700 mg of potassium each day, and that’s about 7-10 cups of vegetables. I heard that people say too much potassium might damage the kidneys. Let me be clear about that. Unless you’re on kidney dialysis or your kidneys are in really bad shape, everything else, you can consume potassium. In fact, it’s shown that potassium protects the kidneys and doesn’t worsen them. You need potassium to protect the kidneys.

It’s just that when the kidneys are so damaged, you can’t process potassium, and it starts to increase because you’re not getting rid of it. So, you need so much potassium, but your body gets rid of that much, too, every day. If you can’t do that, you’ll end up with a lot of potassium, which is dangerous for the heart.

So, for those with kidney dialysis, you can’t do the potassium thing. But, the good thing about it is that we’re not getting the mineral from supplements but from veggies, so it’s safe.

2. Blood Sugar

Your blood sugars can also contribute to eye bags. When someone is hypoglycemic, with Fat Storing Hormone resistance, or is diabetic, they usually have puffiness and dark circles underneath their eyes or their eyes are swelling just because wherever the sugar goes, the water also goes. So, they have a lot of water retention in their body. What you’re going to do is consume 3-6 ounces of protein each meal. Don’t do a lot but don’t cut it out completely.

You also need healthy fats to allow you to go from one meal to the next to avoid snacking. As far as the kidneys are concerned, they do well with a lot of veggies, a little bit of protein, and kidney beans.

With these internal causes of eye bags, you now have a better understanding of what you should do to get rid of it. You might need to change your lifestyle a little bit to prevent these causes and eventually avoid getting puffy eyes.

So, start eating more veggies and stop drinking alcohol as much as possible to reduce swelling under the eyes!

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Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.