Omega 3 For Dry Eye Is Becoming The Gold Standard
Millions of people are affected by dry eye and symptoms can range from severe to very mild. Dry eye syndrome can be a serious disease if it goes undiagnosed for any period of time. Chronic untreated dry eye syndrome can lead to permanent vision loss and severe pain. Dry eye symptomology will be experienced by just about everybody sooner or later in life. This is a multifactoral disease that is related to rapid evaporation of the tear film, inadequate tear production or a combination of both. The Meibomian glands, goblet cells and lacrimal gland all have to be working in synergy to have a healthy tear film consisting of lipids, mucin and aqueous . When one or all of these break down people will experience dry eye symptoms. Dry eye symptoms can be quite severe or can be relatively mild with minor complications. Some common symptoms of dry eye are eyes that fell sandy, gritty, burn, tear, foreign body sensation, chronic red eyes, fluctuation in vision and recurrent infections. The key is early diagnosis and initiate proper dry eye treatment early. Many factors can contribute to advancing dry eye disease. Some contributing factors that may aggravate dry eye signs and symptoms are poor diet that is high in pro inflammatory omega 6, lack of hydration, certain medications, poor sleep, job, certain health conditions, life styles, ocular surgeries, age, genetics and many more. Many eye care providers use a combination of natural and medical approaches when treating dry eye syndrome. Dr Michael Lange a board certified optometric physician and certified nutrition specialist is the founder of the Lange Eye Institute in the Villages Florida. The Villages Florida is the largest retirement community in the world and therefore has one of the highest rates of dry eye syndrome. Dr Lange has significant experience in the treatment of dry eye and has been involved in studies for new dry eye medications at the Lange Eye Institute. Dr Lange states that a large percentage of patients he sees can be treated using a natural approach and may not need any expensive medications if they follow his protocol and diagnosis is made early. Dr Lange has a five step protocol for dry eye therapy consisting of heating the lids, cleaning the lids, lubricating the eyes, proper nutrition to target the tear secreting glands and plenty of good hydration.
Proper nutrition is one of the biggest factors in the treatment of dry eye syndrome. The typical American diet is a pro inflammatory diet much higher in omega 6 than omega 3. This typical diet creates inflammation in the body and the eyes. This inflammation can be decreased by consuming a diet similar to the Paleo or Mediterranean Diet. Dr Michael Lange has developed a diet to help his patients curb this inflammation thru proper intake of food that helps them get to their ideal body weight that also lowers inflammation. This diet is being used and recommended by doctors all over the country now. It is called The Lange Survival Diet. Simply by adding a higher intake of specific fish to your diet or taking a good triglyceride form omega 3 fish oil supplement daily you can off set the ratio of the bad omega 6 to omega 3 and lower inflammation. There is abundant global research documenting the overall health benefits of omega 3 fish oil. There is more and more evidence based studies promoting the positive affects of omega 3 fish oil than any other individual supplement. Scientific studies indicates people that have low omega 3 levels are more prone to having dry eye signs and symptoms. Multiple clinical research studies document the positive affects omega 3 fish oils have on dry eye syndrome. Omega 3 fish oils have a positive impact on the meibomian glands and the lacrimal glands. One mechanism of action is the omega 3 fatty acids may reduce inflammation in the Meibomian glands allowing for a healthier secretion of the outer lipid layer of the tear film. A healthy outer layer of tear film will decrease the evaporation of the tears and less dry eye signs and symptoms will be the result. There are many studies proving that specific dry eye tests improve and dry eye symptoms are reduced after the consumption of omega 3 fish oil in as little as six weeks. These studies document improvement in tear break up time, Shirmer test and corneal staining using fluorescein dye after participants took omega 3 fish oil supplements for a period of time. All omega 3 fish oil is not created equal! The majority of omega 3 fish oil you can buy OTC has very low levels of the actual omega 3 and in an inferior ethyl ester form. Always check the bottle to make sure it says triglyceride form, TG form or rTG form, this is a superior form of omega 3 fish oil that absorbs much quicker and is much more stable.
Most optometrists and ophthalmologists in busy dry eye practices are recommending good Triglyceride form (rTG) omega 3 fish oils for their dry eye patients. On a daily basis these busy clinicians see the positive impact that omega 3 fish oil can have on dry eye signs and symptoms. Omega 3 for dry eye support is becoming the standard of care for dry eye patients.
Dr Michael Lange of the Lange Eye Institute in is quite familiar with using omega 3 fish oil for dry eye. The Villages Florida is the Dry eye capital of the country. Dr Lange was one of the first eye doctors to utilize finger prick omega index testing to test the omega 3 levels of his dry eye patients, proving the majority of patients tested had very low levels of omega 3 in their blood. These results led him to a research trip to Norway to learn from the experts the best way to raise the omega index levels naturally. in 2005 he developed one of the most potent Triglyceride form omega 3 fish oils called Fortifeye Super Omega that has 900 EPA and 600 DHA per serving . Doctors from all over the world began to recommend this Fortifeye Super Omega for their dry eye patients with amazing results. Dr Michael Lange followed the omega 3 research carefully over the next 10-12 years and then decided to work with the Norwegians on developing a rTG form omega 3 that was 50% more potent in the same size capsule. Fortifeye Super Omega 3 Max was born and is one of the most potent Trglyceride Form Omega 3 fish oils in the industry with an EPA of 1200 and DHA of 900 per serving. This is 2400 mg of rTG from omega 3 in the new Fortifeye Super Oega 3 Max. Dr Lange says that most of his dry eye patients respond favorably at these levels of triglyceride (rTG) Omega 3 fish oil. Most doctors have great success at treating dry eye patients with almost a completely natural approach. More and more doctors around the world are recommending Fortifeye Super Omega 3 Max for their dry eye patients. Dr Lange says the majority of dry eye patients if they follow his all natural dry eye protocol will respond well and wont need any further treatment. If you have dry eye symptoms talk to your local eye doctor to see if you may benefit from omega 3 for dry eyes. Learn more about omega 3 for dry eyes here: www.fortifeye.com