Dry eyes have a lot of causes. Some are out of our control, like systemic diseases, skin type, skin disorders, and genetics. But there are always things we can do to improve the severity of dry eye symptoms, and diet is one of them.
Our eyelids have tiny glands, like oil glands in our skin, which produce a special kind of oil that blend with our tears to keep the tears in the eyes and coat our eyes. When the meibomian glands don’t work properly, the tears evaporate quickly, leading to dry eye.
More than we realize, the foods we eat can help give moisture to our eyes. Our meibomian glands use omega 3 fatty acids to produce the oils which hydrate our eyes. By getting 1000 to 2000mg of omega 3 daily, the meibomian glands produce a better quality oil for the eyes.
There are two essential fatty acids: omega-6 and omega-3. Here are the foods they are found in:
Omega-6s: seeds and oils like (sunflower, sesame), hemp, poultry and eggs
Omega-3s: fish oils, flax and chia seeds
How much fish do you have to eat? Here is how much you would have to eat of these foods to consume 1200 mg of omega 3 :
Even if you absolutely love fish, you would be spending a lot of coin to get your recommended dose. Because most of us don’t consume that much, Dr. B recommends taking a high quality omega 3 supplement such as EZ Tears from Eye Promise (read about how to avoid the fish burps here). Vegetarian or not a fan of anything “fish”? Retaine’s Flax seed oil is a good alternative to fish oil, suggests Dr. B. Learn more about how fish oil helps the eyes here.
Sources:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-fish-oil-supplements-and-dry-eyes/
https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/a-fresh-case-for-fish-oil
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fish-oil-side-effects#section9