Dr. Niteen Dedhia

How to keep your eyes healthy and prevent and treat dry eyes

August 22, 2019 | Author: Admin

August 22, 2019

Nutrition plays an important role in dry eye disease. There has been a paradigm shift in using good quality Omega 3s nutritional supplements as a primary treatment for dry eyes.

High quality oral supplementation of Omega 3s fatty acids in the appropriate dose, changes the fatty acid composition of the meibomian gland secretions (oil secreting glands) preventing the blockage and stagnation of meibomian glands. Nutritional therapy is listed as first line of treatment for mild dry eyes. The foundation of all therapies should be to address diet and how this impacts whatever disease a patient has.

There are many different treatments for dry eye disease and physicians are rely on a combination of many of them rather than just one.

The sources of Omega 3s preparations are substantially different and are available commercially. These preparations vary in the purity, efficacy and quality.

Fish is contaminated by Mercury and carcinogens, making it risky to consume the amount we need. Most commercial fish oil manufacturers use alcohol + detoxify these compounds .However the addition of alcohol makes it an ethyl ester compound which is more difficult for the body to absorb.

Re-esterification is a costly time consuming process that removes the alcohol to create a clear yet natural form of Omega 3s that is not only better absorbed than Omega 3s in ethyl ester form but also better tolerated.

Most over-the-counter Omega 3s supplements are in the less desirable ethyl ester (alcohol) form. Research has suggested that plant source Omega 3s have minimal impact on meibum composition. If plant based Omega 3s are used, no matter how high the dose, the body cannot convert the most available form of Omega 3s supplement is in the form that appears in food and most of the Omega 3s supplement that people get are in the chemical or un purified form.

Evidence of Omega 3 supplement as useful in ocular dry disease and evidence of benefits of nutritional supplementation has continued to strengthen over the years.

Both of the DEWS reports recommend nutritional therapy as first line treatment for dry eye disease. Omega 3 supplement pts achieved desirable therapeutic levels of 8% after 1 month in 44% patients.

Also Omega 3 supplements re esterified triglyceride EPA and DHA demonstrated significant improvement in tear osmolarity, ocular surface index symptoms scores and improvement in tear film stability evidenced by improved tear breakup time.

Data shows that supplementation with high quality Omega 3 fatty acids in the proper dose is a primary therapy for treating dry eye disease.