Which Deficiency Can Cause Sunken Eyes?

Bags or dark circles under the eyes happen when we burn the candle at both ends, but if you wake up feeling refreshed and still see dark, sunken eyes, it could be a symptom of something deeper. 

While dietary deficiencies aren’t incredibly common in developed nations like the United States, they can occur. Changes in skin, energy levels, hair, and muscle tone can all be symptoms of a missing vitamin or nutrient. 

We’ll explain which vitamins are most frequently associated with skin health (and sunken eyes) and how to correct for deficiencies. We’ll also discuss the latest vitamin deficiency discovered, the effect it has on our healthspans, and how to tell if you have it. Correcting it is easy, and we’ll cover dietary and supplement solutions.

What Are Vitamin Deficiencies?

The human body requires essential vitamins and nutrients to carry out processes that keep us functioning. Essential means that our bodies need these vitamins and nutrients to survive but cannot readily make them on their own. We have to get these vitamins and nutrients from our diet or supplements.

Deficiencies happen when the body does not get enough of a particular vitamin or nutrient. This can happen for various reasons, including underlying health issues, surgeries, or an unbalanced diet. A person with a vitamin deficiency will begin to notice symptoms of the deficiency. One symptom of vitamin deficiency can be sunken eyes.

Vitamin Deficiencies That Cause Sunken Eyes

There are a few key vitamins and minerals that, when missing, can cause a person’s eyes to appear sunken. Sunken eyes will appear recessed and tired and show dark circles beneath the lower eyelid. The most common vitamins associated with sunken eyes are vitamins C, K, E, and iron. 

Vitamin C

A deficiency in vitamin C is called scurvy, but you’ll rarely have a deficiency so severe you’d develop it. Vitamin C helps with collagen production, but when collagen levels decline, areas under the eyes will appear thinner and recessed.

Vitamin K 

Vitamin K is essential for helping with blood clotting and strengthening the walls of blood vessels. Without vitamin K, a person may experience less blood flow in the thin skin beneath the eyes, causing them to appear sunken. 

Vitamin E

Many skin care products contain vitamin E. It is an essential vitamin that helps support the skin’s elasticity. If you are deficient in vitamin E, you will probably begin to notice changes in your skin, like less resilience.

Iron

Iron deficient anemia is the most common type of anemia. It happens when a person is unable to absorb enough iron from their diet. Iron-deficient anemia can cause the skin to look pale and the eyes to look sunken. 

Identifying a vitamin deficiency requires a blood test. Your doctor can test your blood to learn whether or not your circulating levels of a particular nutrient are too low. 

What Causes Vitamin Deficiencies?

When most people think of vitamin deficiencies, they think of sailors dying of scurvy or children from decades past with brittle bones from rickets. Although vitamin deficiencies are not common, they can still occur, but the reasons aren’t usually because of inadequate access to healthy foods. 

The most common causes of vitamin deficiencies are:

• Unbalanced diets. Diets that eliminate entire food groups can cause gaps. 
• Eating disorders
• Long-term alcohol abuse
• Weight loss surgery
• Underlying medical conditions like celiac disease
• Some medications

Symptoms of a vitamin or nutrient deficiency can vary. Generally, symptoms can include but are not limited to:

• Fatigue or tiredness
• Shortness of breath
• Mental changes like confusion or forgetfulness
• Muscle pain or weakness
• Sore joints
• Skin and hair changes

If you have a vitamin deficiency, the solution is usually a combination of lifestyle changes, dietary adjustments, and supplementation.

How Rare Are Vitamin Deficiencies?

Deficiencies are uncommon when a person consumes a broad and varied diet and has no underlying health or medical issues that prevent them from getting the essential nutrients they need. Even more uncommon is the discovery of a new deficiency. In fact, the last nutritional deficiency to be discovered was over 75 years ago, that is until recently. 

A New Nutrient Deficiency

A new essential nutrient has been recently discovered by scientists and researchers working at the United States Navy. This nutrient, pentadecanoic acid (also known as C15:0), is an odd-chain, saturated fatty acid that our cells must have to maintain their structure and strength. C15:0 supports the strength and health of our cells, the very foundation of our ability to maintain our long-term health and wellness. 

C15:0 works in our cells by:

• Strengthening cell membranes by up to 80%.
• Improving and restoring mitochondrial production. (C15:0 has been shown to increase ATP levels within cells by 350%)
• Lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol
• Improving liver enzymes
• Supporting a healthy gut microbiome

C15:0 even targets six out of the hallmarks of aging that happen within our cells and can improve both our healthspan and lifespan. So, what is this magic nutrient? 

It’s a simple, odd-chain, saturated fatty acid found primarily in whole-fat dairy products. As we have decreased our full-fat dairy consumption over the past 40 years, our C15:0 levels have also decreased, resulting in a worldwide deficiency affecting nearly one in three people across the globe.

What Is Cellular Fragility Syndrome?

Cellular Fragility Syndrome is a result of insufficient levels of C15:0 and can lead to premature breakdown of our cells. To avoid Cellular Fragility Syndrome, our C15:0 levels need to be above 0.2% of the total fatty acids in our cell membranes. 

Additional evidence supports that higher levels of C15:0 may be able to enhance our longevity. In Blue Zones like Sardinia, Italy, people have levels of C15:0 that are much higher, often measuring 0.60%. 

When a person’s levels of C15:0 dip below 0.2%, they are deficient. The nutritional deficiency associated with C15:0 is called Cellular Fragility Syndrome. 

Understanding the Effects of Cellular Fragility Syndrome

As published in the scientific journal Metabolites, low levels of C15:0 can result in fragile cells that accelerate cellular aging and increase the risk of developing chronic metabolic, heart, and liver conditions.

In addition, it appears that Cellular Fragility Syndrome leads to ferroptosis, which is a type of cell death which has been linked to accelerated aging, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and NAFLD, all of which have been on the rise, especially among younger adults. 

Why Is There a Deficiency?

That’s a good question. One possible reason is a decline in the intake of dietary fats due to outdated health guidelines issued decades ago that have impacted an entire generation of people. 

Due to these guidelines, population-wide C15:0 levels have been declining, primarily due to increasing avoidance of whole-fat dairy products. Who do you know that drinks whole milk anymore? Less intake of cow’s milk is a trend that the United States Department of Agriculture describes as “difficult to reverse.”

While many people prefer plant-based milks like oat, almond, or soy, these milk alternatives do not contain C15:0, which is leading to more people becoming deficient in this essential nutrient. 

Fixing Cellular Fragility Syndrome

Before we can fix Cellular Fragility Syndrome, we need to first identify the problem. Testing your C15:0 levels can be done through your physician (ordering a C15:0 test) or through an at-home test. 

This test requires a simple finger-prick blood sample, which can be collected at home and sent back to a lab in the mail. You’ll get your results and learn whether or not you are deficient in C15:0 and importantly, how optimized your C15:0 levels are for promoting healthy aging and longevity.

Why a Supplement Is Best

Unlike some nutrient deficiencies, increasing your circulating levels of C15:0 often requires supplementation, in addition to dietary changes. The reason? As discussed above, we have removed C15:0 from our diets over time.

 Additionally, C15:0 is only found in trace amounts in whole milk and full-fat butter. You’d have to consume a lot of each to get the beneficial C15:0 you need, and at the same time, you’d be consuming more calories and more of the unhealthy even chain saturated fats.

Enter fatty15, the first and only C15:0 supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly version of C15:0 known as FA15™.

Fatty15 Is Ready To Absorb

In whole milk, the beneficial C15:0 your body needs is attached to triglycerides. The body has to break down the triglycerides to separate the C15:0 before it can be absorbed. 

This extra step makes the absorption of C15:0 less efficient. In contrast, the FA15 in fatty15 is already broken down in free fatty acid form. Less work for your gut and more good C15:0 that is bioavailable for your cells.

Fatty15 Isn’t Mixed With “Bad” Fats

We now know not all fats are bad, but some fats should still be avoided. Even-chain saturated fatty acids are consistently associated with negative health impacts, and whole dairy products have much higher levels of these pro-inflammatory saturated fats. 

With fatty15, you get only the good C15:0 you need, with none of the even-chain saturated fats you don’t. 

Fatty15 Skips Calories and Cows

Whole-fat dairy packs a wallop of calories, which doesn’t necessarily support your efforts to maintain a healthy weight. It also contains excess sugar from lactose. Fatty15 only contains one calorie per daily dose and zero sugar, making it a much more waistline-friendly way to increase your C15:0. 

Lastly, you can’t consume whole-fat dairy without cow involvement. This makes C15:0 inaccessible to people (like vegans) who are avoiding animal products. Fatty15 is vegan-friendly and sustainable, making it a good solution for vegans and the environment. 

Got C15:0 Deficiency? Fix it With Fatty

Vitamin deficiencies are rare, but they can still occur. If you’re noticing sunken eyes and can’t pinpoint the source, a simple blood test can help you determine if you’re missing something important from your diet. 

While you’re at it, you owe it to yourself to find out if you’re deficient in C15:0. Taking fatty15 each day can protect your cells from Cellular Fragility Syndrome, reverse cellular aging, and improve your cardiac, metabolic and liver health. Taking fatty15 allows you to age on your own terms. 

Sources:

Vitamin C Deficiency - StatPearls | NCBI Bookshelf

Vitamin deficiency anemia - Symptoms & causes | Mayo Clinic

The truth about nutrient deficiencies | Harvard Health

History of modern nutrition science—implications for current research, dietary guidelines, and food policy | The BMJ

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

A review of odd-chain fatty acid metabolism and the role of pentadecanoic Acid (c15:0) and heptadecanoic Acid (c17:0) in health and disease

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial | ScienceDirect

Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds

The Cellular Stability Hypothesis: Evidence of Ferroptosis and Accelerated Aging-Associated Diseases as Newly Identified Nutritional Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0) Deficiency Syndrome

Changes in plasma phospholipid fatty acid profiles over 13 years and correlates of change: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk Study | ScienceDirect

USDA ERS - Fluid Milk Consumption Continues Downward Trend, Proving Difficult to Reverse

Ferroptosis: an iron-dependent form of nonapoptotic cell death | PubMed

Ferroptosis and Senescence: A Systematic Review

Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus and complications: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities | Cell Death & Disease

Ferroptosis mechanisms and regulations in cardiovascular diseases in the past, present, and future | Cell Biology and Toxicology

Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: what is our next step?