Dry Eyes & Nutrition

A Healthy Diet & Your Eyes

Eating well with the right combination of foods and vitamins, and avoiding sugars, are the first steps in treating any condition and getting yourself back in shape. However, dry eyes can creep up depending on a variety of factors, so taking an additional step in your nutrition by choosing specific foods or supplements will ensure better results & less dryness.

Dry Eyes, Tears, & Food

Tears are a blend of water, oils, and mucus that help smooth the surface of our eyes, prevent infections and soothe the skin. When tear production is stifled, the eyes can get irritated, turn red, and develop an inflammation. Therefore, to ensure our tears continue to be produced with the right balance, our nutrition must also be balanced.

Vitamins & Natural Supplements

While advanced dry eyes might need more sophisticated treatment from an optometrist, if you’re starting to see early signs of dryness, selecting the right foods for their nutritional content is a great step that could prevent the progression of dry eye syndrome, especially since vitamins can take up to a month to take effect.

Antioxidants

– Research regarding how antioxidants relate to dry eye inflammation are not conclusive. While oxidative stress or free radicals in the body have shown to cause harm in the body, food that contains antioxidants to supposedly detox the body of oxidative stress isn’t so clear. Even so, other studies show that antioxidants do promote many benefits for various conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to cardiovascular health. Investing in supplements rich in antioxidants or natural foods like blueberries, pecans, and even kidney beans could be a potential boost for your overall health.

Blink Omega 3Omega-3 fatty acids – a vitamin list for dry eyes. While many doctors recommend fish oil, there are many foods that also carry this wonder-supplement. Salmon is considered by many to be a super food, and one of its main ingredients is Omega-3 fatty acids. Other common foods include canola oil, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, wild rice, eggs, soybeans, walnuts, and even enriched dairy foods.

Optical Effects Vision Center carries a product called Blink Omega-3. Not only are these small packages that can be easily ingested, but they taste much better than fish oil. One package a day contains 2,000 milligrams, while fish oil pills may only contain a few hundred milligrams. Why ingest a bunch of pills & have fish breath, when you can enjoy your health boost with something that’s sweet & blends easily in water.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Staying Fit

Something that that is often overlooked is remaining hydrated. When your body is dehydrated it conserves water, causing headaches, dryness, and reduced tear production.

Perhaps not surprisingly, exercise has shown to benefit eye health as well. As your eyes are connected to the rest of the body and optometrists can evaluate blood pressure and overall body health from an eye exam, regular exercise can reduce the risk of eye disease. Research has shown that regular exercise has a positive impact on ocular perfusion pressure, a major determiner for glaucoma, resulting in 25% lower risk than those who are largely inactive. Similar findings have shown that exercise reduces the risk for macular degeneration.

Nutrition & Your Eye Doctor

Your optometrist can recommend other options to help you find relief faster in addition to improving eating habits & exercise routines. Dry Eyes may be an eye disease, but adjusting one’s diet can reduce the symptoms of dry eyes as well as improve your health overall.