Do you suffer from dry eyes? I did not realize how dry my eyes were until I had a test done at the optometrist’s office. I have been wearing contacts for ~20 years and all the while have had eye discomfort as well as varying levels of astigmatism and distance corrections. Having dry eyes affects the comfort of my contacts, how well I see, and how I would respond and recover from eye surgery. The optometrist recommended fish oil as a treatment for dry eye which was both surprising and exciting! As it turns out, there is a burgeoning amount of research on the effects of fish oils, especially DHA, in the health of adult eyes.

In a recent study by Kangari et al., individuals with dry eye symptoms between the ages of 45-90 years old had significant improvements in dry eye measurements after supplementing with 300 mg EPA+DHA for 30 days compared to a placebo control group. Another study published recently by Olenik et al. found that 1.3 g EPA+DHA for 3 months improved tear break up time, which indicates more stable tear film. A newsletter article from the Fats of Life website reviewing dry eye and fish oil, including the Olenik study, is found here.

As of yet, I have not been supplementing with EPA+DHA at the dose and duration necessary to see improvements (my doctor recommended 2 g fish oil per day for 6-8 weeks) but I am pleased there may be a non-pharmacological answer to my uncomfortable eyes.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This test is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent or mitigate any disease. This site does not offer medical advice, and nothing contained herein is intended to establish a doctor/patient relationship. OmegaQuant, LLC is regulated under the Clinical Laboratory improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and is qualified to perform high complexity clinical testing. The performance characteristics of this test were determined by OmegaQuant, LLC. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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