Iris colour change on a raw animal food diet

[TylerDurden]

I also forgot to mention that a number of RVAFers have reported getting lighter-coloured eyes after consuming raw dairy. In my own case, though, raw dairy darkened my irises very quickly.

[PaleoPhil]

Fascinating. I wonder what causes the opposite responses. I also wonder why cysteine and perhaps other amino acids from eggs, meats and organs reduce melanin in the eyes while apparently increasing it, or enabling it to increase, in the skin at the same time, and why modern diets contribute to the opposite--paler skin and darker eyes.

[Donnyten]

I am afro-american, my eyes are dark brown.

Should I expect to see a change in the near future if i stick with this lifestyle?

[TylerDurden]

I am afro-american, my eyes are dark brown.

Should I expect to see a change in the near future if i stick with this lifestyle?

In theory, it's been claimed that  nonwhites would get amber-coloured(yellowish-brown) eyes after going on a RVAF diet for some years with whites getting lighter-coloured eyes(more like what eye-colour they had at birth, in the latter case). No guarantee re eye-colour change, though as it seems to be a relatively random phenomenon.

[Donnyten]

Thanks.. any validation to this?

"Eating raw unpasteurised milk and cream, along with juiced vegetables can change your eye colour. Mine wnet from light brwon to grey over a year on this diet; it is the result of detoxification.

This will not, however, apply to people of African or oriental descent who are born with "black" eyes. It only applies to people of european descent whose natrually blue eyes are clouded by toxins in cooked food.

I know this sounds absurd but it has happened to me and I have seen it happen to others."

from http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/329691

[TylerDurden]

My point re amber-coloured eyes comes from comments made by long-term Primal Dieters on the (closed) Primal Diet yahoo group, so I'm pretty sure there must have been some examples thereof for that data to be mentioned(of course, there may be other factors - for example, I understand that many black people in the US have Caucasian DNA as well, to some extent, which might increase the likelihood of light-coloured eyes appearing, perhaps?). I will post a comment re this on that group  to see if there is a response

[nummytummy]

I'm just curious to know of anyone of asian descent has experienced a change in eye-colour as a result of eating raw animal foods. The eye colour change seems to be more common in caucasians, but this could just be because there aren't that many asians following this kind of diet and/or posting on the boards in english.

I do know of a full-blooded Korean actress who has naturally hazel-green eyes.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I think my eye colour is a bit lighter brown than it was when I was younger. When I was a kid, I remember my eyes being very dark, to the point where some people would tell me my eye colour was "black" instead of brown. But recently when I looked at my eyes, I noticed they seemed a bit more golden brown, like the colour of toasted sesame oil, or dark honey. I don't know if that's because of diet, maybe since I quit eating foods I'm allergic to, but I haven't been eating raw animal foods for very long, and I'm still far from being totally raw. I guess I should find some pictures of myself when I was younger and see if there's a difference. Or take some pictures now and compare it to when I really go raw.

As a side note, I also found an article saying the some people's eye colours just lighten naturally with age:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2004-10-08-wonderquest_x.htm

[PaleoPhil]

Here is a Korean who reported that her eye color lightened on a raw vegan diet:

“I posted a reply on my eye color shifting in the other post. My eyes were a medium-light brown. Now my eyes are a very light brown, almost tan. The dark rink around the iris is blue when the light shines directly in my eyes. The blue is becoming more intense. I'm Korean so brown is fairly normal. Also, while I have been 100% raw vegan (6 mos) I now do eat some cooked foods and some cheese and raw egg yolks. I believe the cooked is slowing down the process. In the beginning, I didn't see anything but dark gray then I could only see a hint of blue in the ring. When I look in the mirror and the light shines directly into the eye, the ring is a brilliant ocean blue. I believe my eyes will turn entirely blue when I become more raw. I see hints of blue under the honey color and my eyes are more translucent.” – Therese, http://www.sunfoodpages.com/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000049;p=

Some more links on eye color change through raw diets:
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/mar/eye-color-explained/?searchterm=eye%20color%20explained
http://rawpaleodiet.vpinf.com/iris-color-change-1.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/eyecolor.html
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/forum/topics/raw-food-diet-and-eye-colour
http://everything2.com/title/Eating+raw+foods+can+change+your+eye+color
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19290116&id=KokLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g1QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1627,439957
http://www.naturalhealthandwellnesscenter.com/iridology.htm
http://www.veoh.com/collection/bio-optic#watch%3Dv16020976HCWPH6DH

[Oclipper]

I eat a lot of fibers or natural food and no junk or fat food. my eyes turned clearer... very very light brown (like steel gray) and a small green halo around iris, not very visible in only 10 days.

[LePatron7]

*BUMP*

Hey everyone. Has anyone noticed a significant color change in their eyes since starting the diet?

I red somewhere that Aajonous claims his eyes were dark brown when he was sick, and after a few years on the Primal diet they turned blue.

Please comment as to how long you've been on the diet, and what you've noticed as far as eye color change. Also comment how strict you are on your diet, and what foods your diet typically includes.

[superja]

My eyes have gone from dark brown to almost an orange brown with some green in them. I've been following a raw paleo lifestyle for almost a year now, but have eaten raw meat occasionally for about 3 years.

I typically eat raw eggs, beef, bison, fish, and chicken. Nuts and veggies, some raw dairy when I can get it (mostly cheese).

[LePatron7]

My eyes have gone from dark brown to almost an orange brown with some green in them. I've been following a raw paleo lifestyle for almost a year now, but have eaten raw meat occasionally for about 3 years.

I typically eat raw eggs, beef, bison, fish, and chicken. Nuts and veggies, some raw dairy when I can get it (mostly cheese).

Thanks. I noticed my eyes are lighter brown than they used to be. But they have a dark ring around the brown of my eye.

I'm hoping after a few years of strict rpd I'll notice some changes.

[rawfooderess]

Wow, cool thread. My eyes and skin always look better when eating raw free range eggs whole or just the yolk.

Since I have been extremely high raw to 100 percent raw which is what I am trying to do now, I have noticed my eyelashes literally growing.

I do a raw paleo but I do eat sprouted Buckwheat groats.

I eat raw wheat germ sometimes, not very much so I am not completely paleo. I am a raw foodist who eats animal foods. Interesting thread indeed.

I wish that I had the guts to do raw free range liver. Sometimes I eat steak tartare but I haven't progressed to raw liver. I have no problem with raw fish.

[PaleoPhil]

I do a raw paleo but I do eat sprouted Buckwheat groats.

I eat raw wheat germ sometimes, not very much so I am not completely paleo. I am a raw foodist who eats animal foods. Interesting thread indeed.

Welcome! I'm curious as to why you eat buckwheat groats and wheat germ. I used to eat wheat germ myself upon the advice of "experts," and I'm sorry I ever did it.

[PaleoPhil]

I wondered if supplements that are supposed to boost glutathione would also trigger more of this phenomenon of reducing the brown/melanin in the iris (and thus revealing more green, blue or gray color).

One such supplement is Guardian Ultrathione, which Art De Vany believes has reduced the gray in his hair:


Art De Vany in his 70's
"The picture shows how little gray hair I have. I have less gray hair now than I had at the age of 40. I have attributed that to my intake of Ultrathione, the source of glutathione in Guardian."
http://artdevanyonline.com/1/post/2012/12/the-free-radical-theory-of-graying1.html

And an animal study jibes with this:

"hair graying ... is attributable to a loss of melanin produced by oxidative stress, thus raising the possibility that hair graying constitutes a signal of resistance to oxidative stress in wild boars. Our results suggest that the degree of melanization is linked to GSH levels in wild boars and that their antioxidant damage shows senescence effects." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=graying+hair+glutathione

And hair graying is known to be reversible in humans: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1745/20130503/bye-gray-hair-researchers-find-way-reverse.htm

On the other hand, it looks like his wife has a fair amount of gray hair, though she looks great overall and she also has T1DM.

But I Googled and I did find some people reporting lightened eye color from glutathione supplements:

"Yes, glutathione can lighten eye color. I experienced this myself. After 7 months of taking glutathione supplements, people have been asking if I were wearing contact lenses, which I wasn't.

I don't know about KB though as it's not "real" glutathione."
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=432335&p=51784017&viewfull=1#post51784017

Iodine too:
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/44985-eye-color-change-with-iodine-supplementation/

And Iodine is known to increase glutathione levels: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7685786

Though oddly I found no reports of NAC supplements (NAC is supposed to boost glutathione production) doing this.

There is a scientific explanation for how cysteine and glutathione may lighten iris color:

"In uveal melanocytes, the quality and quantity of melanin vary with race and iris color. In the uveal pigments, pheomelanin is often present in addition to eumelanin (21-23). Pheomelanin is a lighter colored, yellowish pigment that is formed when cysteine or glutathione is present during the oxidation stage of dopa (24). 1,4- benzothiazynylalanine, derived from cysteinyldopas, is proposed to be a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of pheomelanin (24). The quantity of uveal melanin in eyes with dark-colored irides is greater than that in light-colored eyes (21,23,25). Uveal melanocytes contain both eumelanin and pheomelanin. In cells from eyes with dark-colored irides (brown and dark brown in color), the amount of eumelanin and the ratio of eumelanin/pheomelanin is significantly greater than that from eyes with light-colored irides (hazel, green, yellow-brown and blue in color) (23). The quantity of pheomelanin in uveal melanocytes from eyes with light-colored irides is slightly greater than that from dark-colored irides, although the difference is not statistically significant (23)." http://www.youreyesolutions.com/blog/item/role-of-ocular-melanin-in-ophthalmic-physiology-and-pathology


There are even reports of glutathione supplements and injections lightening skin, and it has become all the rage in Asia:

Glutathione as an oral whitening agent: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20524875
"Oral glutathione administration results in a lightening of skin color in a small number of subjects."

Investigating the Effectiveness of Glutathione as a Melanin Inhibitor
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2010/Projects/S1804.pdf
"majority of the subjects tested experienced a significant lightening of their skin tone especially for those who took the pill and use the lotion" (although one subject developed spots on her face)

> "Animal tests showed that a high cysteine level (the main component of glutathione) lowers melanin production."
> "Another study on glutathione as a skin whitener will be released next month, November 2011, conducted by dermatologists from the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS).

The study was conducted among 40 respondents who were asked to drink 500mg of glutathione capsules in 10 weeks. Only 14 users finished drinking the pills in the controlled group. Of these, 11 manifested minimal whitening of the skin."
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/10/10/11/white-skin-comes-price

"experts have raised four theories to explain the possible whitening effect of the tripeptide, based on animal and in vivo studies using melanoma cell lines. Glutathione may directly deactivate tyrosinase, the main enzyme in melanin synthesis; sop up free radicals and peroxides that promote tyrosinase activation and melanin formation; or enhance the depigmenting abilities of melanocytotoxic agents. Another proposed mechanism is the triggering of a pathway that shifts the production in eumelanin (black to brown pigment) to pheomelanin (yellow to red-brown pigment)."
http://www.medobserver.com/specialtyarticle.php?ArticleID=7

http://www.vitaminmaster.com/faq.html

"Someone said my skin lightened by 20 shades (but of course she was exaggerating)."
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=432335&p=52037465&viewfull=1#post52037465

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080302153957AA4x1k5

[LePatron7]

SCD (the Specific Carbohydrate Diet) could potentially also increase glutathione levels.

http://www.microbialinfluence.com/glutathione.html

"Acute LPS injection produced a significant Glutathione (GSH) reduction"

LPS = a microbial toxin that has a lot of negative side effects, including antioxidant reduction.

[PaleoPhil]

I learned that Denise Minger reported that her increased lightening from brown to hazel irises occurred while she was on her raw vegan diet, which is rather interesting.

[jrawsychuk]

I got a few replies when I mentioned this topic in my 'introducing myself' thread, so I thought I'd post here too. . . Have any of the original posters continued to monitor eye colour and experienced more changes? My own colour change has been slow but is definitely noticeable now.

I did not have any noticeable green in my eyes as a child or a SAD adult. Hazel/green colour started showing up shortly after going raw 6 years ago (looking back at pictures) but I always considered my eyes to be brown until recently (new acquaintances have commented on them being 'green', which prompted me to look this up) They are hazel or green depending on the light (full-spectrum). The close up below was taken this week under a high-efficiency light bulb. The one in the black t-shirt is near a semi-transparent window on a sunny day two years ago. I have no idea about conditions on the other two, but I know I never had any green in my eyes as a kid because I used to literally pray for my eyes to turn green. Maybe I always knew they were supposed to be?