Diet plays an essential part in protecting both eye health and overall wellness, with lack of certain vitamins and nutrients contributing to dry eye symptoms.
According to recent research, diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids, whole foods, and antioxidants may help combat dry eye syndrome. Here are a few details.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Dry eye syndrome, as the leading cause of vision loss in the US, causes discomfort and visual disturbances that impair quality of life. Diets rich in Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as mackerel and salmon may help alleviate symptoms associated with this condition.
19 related RCTs revealed that patients receiving omega-3 fatty acid treatment experienced greater improvement in terms of TBUT (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.047; P0.001), Ocular Surface Disease Index scores, Schirmer test scores and tear film stability (SMD = 0.506; P0.001) than those receiving placebo treatments; funnel plots and Egger’s regression asymmetry tests did not indicate evidence of publication bias.
However, the DREAM study (randomized 545 participants with typical DED to either 3 grams of long chain omega-3 fatty acids daily or olive oil placebo), did not demonstrate any beneficial results to Giacomina Massaro-Giordano MD; Vatinee Bunya MD; and Maureen Maguire PhD were taken aback at these results.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) helps combat free radicals that damage tissues across the body, including those found in the eye. Furthermore, Vitamin E may also prevent cataracts and slow macular degeneration progression.
Vitamin C not only acts as an antioxidant but it can also protect eyes from oxidative stress that contributes to dry eye symptoms. Sources of Vitamin C include citrus fruits, berries, bell peppers and green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin A is essential to the eye’s light-sensing cells known as photoreceptors and any deficiency can lead to night blindness and dry eyes. You can obtain Vitamin A through eating orange vegetables rich in beta carotene like carrots and sweet potatoes as well as liver, egg yolks and dairy products for additional sources of this essential nutrient. Furthermore, Vitamin B6 plays an important role in maintaining healthy tear film function – you’ll find this nutrient in potatoes, kale spinach beans as well as fortified cereals and nutritional yeast sources of this essential nutrient!
Zinc
Zinc is essential for eye health as it assists your liver with transporting vitamin A directly to your retina, and helps create melanin, which protects eyes from sun damage. You can find zinc in meat and fish, whole grains, nuts, legumes (beans and lentils), vegetables and some fruits as well as supplements; just remember that certain antibiotics could interact negatively and it can also cause stomach upset – be sure to consult with a healthcare provider first before taking zinc!
Studies have demonstrated that oral nutritional supplements can alleviate some symptoms associated with dry eye syndrome. These supplements include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, zinc and antioxidants which may slow macular degeneration progression or cataract risk reduction; however these supplements do not treat the evaporative type caused by lacrimal gland dysfunction and Sjogren’s syndrome, nor the inflammatory type which results from meibomian gland dysfunction.
Protein
Dry eye syndrome affects millions of people worldwide and goes beyond mere discomfort to become permanent damage to the cornea, leading to blurry vision. Poor diet may also play a factor.
Diet can help to lower the risk of dry eyes by providing essential eye health nutrients. A diet rich in whole proteins, diverse carbohydrates and healthy fats may provide all of these vital elements needed to promote tear production.
Not only protein is necessary for optimal eye health; other key nutrients include omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, vitamin C and copper are also crucial nutrients that must be present to protect the retina against damage. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant protecting the retina and protecting it from further injury. All of these can be found in various food sources such as whole grains, dark green vegetables, flaxseeds nuts berries olive oil; for omega 3s try cold-water fish like salmon mackerel egg yolk walnuts flaxseeds etc.