CAN A RAW FOOD DIET CAUSE CHANGES IN EYE COLOR?

by Tom Billings

A side effect of raw food diets reported by some people is that their eyes become clearer and/or their eye color may even change. Also, it is fairly common for vision to improve somewhat as the (internal) cleansing effect of a raw food diet improves circulation. I noticed some years ago when I returned to raw foods (after eating cooked food for a while) that my vision improved slightly and my eyes became slightly bluer. It took several months on raw foods for the color change to be noticeable (improvement in vision took only a few weeks to be noticeable).

This effect is briefly mentioned in some of the letters in the book (of letters) compiled by Viktoras Kulvinskas ("Life in the 21st Century", see pgs. 244-245, 327-329 for mention of eye color changes; also see pgs. 42-45, 242-244). In the iridology section of Viktoras' "Survival in the 21st Century" (pg. 199) the claim is made that "As the body regenerates, the iris changes in color value... With healing, the natural color will return. The whole iris may become lighter in color". [Note: both books are available in the SF-LiFE lending library; members have borrowing privileges.]

Some people's eye colors may be "prescribed" by genetics (??), and in those people the eyes become clearer, but the color might not change. The Ayurvedic view of eye color is that your eyes are the color that you have in "excess" (excess in the astral or spiritual body). That view supports the idea that changes in eye color may be possible due to the deep cleansing provided by a raw food diet. Also, reportedly there are cases of multiple personality syndrome in which a person's eye color changes according to which personality is "resident" at the time! I also recall reading recent newspaper reports about a drug (approved by the FDA) that has the side-effect of changing your eye color. So, there is considerable evidence to support the idea that eye color can change.

Further evidence for the idea that eye color can change in presented in the book, "Aghora: At the Left Hand of God", by Robert E. Svoboda. That book presents a description of the life and principles of an Aghori, a Tantric adept, named Vimalananda. In the introduction (pg. 35), Svoboda says regarding Vimalananda:

"He certainly was not confined by the restrictions which confine most mortals. His eyes, for example, refused to remain the same color at all times. Sometimes they were a light blue, often they were light green, the color of a grape known as anab-e-shahi. At some moments they could become nearly colorless....At other times when he was feeling playful he would adjust his eye color to match mine and would then call everyone in the room over to see and comment..."

A few notes of explanation, regarding Vimalananda: 1) Svoboda spent 8 years with Vimalananda; the above is first hand information. 2) Vimalananda was an adept at the left-hand path of Tantra known as Vama Marga; such people are rare. Most Tantrics choose the safer, more conservative right hand path called Dakshina Marga. Dakshina is meant for those who seek steady spiritual progress at low risk; Vama is described as "fast, intense, terrible". The sexual rituals that made Tantra notorious (and which have been debased and commercialized by some in the West) are part of Vama Marga, the left hand path of Tantra. 3) Vimalananda was not a raw fooder, but he was a vegetarian. 4) At the present time (3/97), the "Aghora" book is not in the SF-LiFE library. It is avaialble at the bookstore at the Integral Yoga Institute, San Francisco.

I invite anyone who has experienced or observed eye color changes to comment on the above; SF-LiFE newsletter readers can send written comments, while those reading this on Internet can respond to the author [email protected]