Hello everyone, I am Dr. Audrey Tai, welcome back to my channel - Eye channel by eye surgeon.
I am a board certified and fellowship trained refractive and cataract surgeon, ophthalmologist
and cornea specialist, I am here to bring you the latest information on eye health and
medicine.
I also have a Masters degree in nutrition, so today’s topic is very dear to me.
In today's video you'll learn why you should take omega-3 fish oil supplements for dry
eyes, how to pick the best omega-3 oil for you, and also my top three recommended omega-3
oil supplements for treating dry eyes.
I've listed in the description below, links to my top three recommended omega 3 oil supplements,
so you can check them out.
This is not a sponsored video, the products I recommend in this video are based on my
own clinical experience treating dry eye disease as well as my personal experience using those
products.
If you watch until the end of this video, I will review my top recommended omega 3 oil
supplements for vegetarians and vegans.
So, why should you take omega-3 fish oil supplements if you have dry eyes
The tears on the surface of our eyes have 3 different layers: the lipid layer, the aqueous
layer, and the mucin layer.
The lipid layer of the tear film is the outermost layer, and its function is to prevent the
liquid portion of the tears from evaporating too fast.
It contains mainly meibum oil, which is produced by the oil glands in our eyelids, called membomian
glands.
Therefore if the membomian glands are not working properly due to inflammation or clogging,
or if the meibum oil is too thick or has abnormal composition, the lipid layer of the tear film
may either contain too little oil or poor quality of oil, and it will not function properly.
This results in our eyes getting dry due to rapid evaporation of the tears.
This condition is called membomian gland dysfunction.
And it is one of the most common causes for dry eye disease.
Numerous studies have shown that omega-3 oil supplements can decrease inflammation of the
membomian glands, improving meibum oil flow into the tear film, as well as improving the
quality of meibum oil.
That is why Omega three oil supplements are commonly recommended by eye doctors for treating
dry eye disease.
When we go to a pharmacy, or even a grocery store, the amount of choices for omega-3 fish
oil supplements available over-the-counter can be overwhelming.
So how do you pick the best omega 3 fish oil supplement for you?
Omega-3 oil supplements, just like other dietary supplements, are not regulated by the FDA,
so the quality and composition can vary greatly among different products.
Let's talk about some key things to look for in a good quality omega-3 fish oil supplement.
Most of the key information you're looking for to differentiate different types of omega-3
fish oil supplements is listed on the supplement facts label, which are typically located at
the back of the package.
The first thing you should look at is the type of fatty acids contained in the supplements.
You are looking for the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids, and specifically the amount of
EPA and DHA contained in the product.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
There are three primary omega 3 fatty acids in our diet, ALA, EPA, and DHA.
Among these three types of omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA have significantly more anti-inflammatory
properties than ALA.
While ALA can be converted into EPA and DHA in our body, only about 5 to 10% of dietary
ALA is converted into EPA and DHA . You want to pay attention to the amount of EPA and
DHA contained in each serving of the product.
Studies have shown that daily supplementation of 2000 mg of combined EPA and DHA is effective
in treating dry eye disease.
However, the amount of omega-3 fatty acids needed to treat dry eye disease can not simply
be obtained by just eating fish, due to the amount of toxins contained in fish, such as
Mercury and lead.
The amount of fish that you would need to consume daily to treat dry eye disease could
pose a significant risk of mercury poisoning.
The second thing you're looking for is the form of EPA and DHA that the product contains.
Specifically, you are looking for the triglyceride form of EPA and DHA, and not the ethyl ester
form.
Studies have shown that the triglyceride form of omega-3 oil can have up to 70% better absorption
than the ethyl ester form.
For example, in this type of fish oil supplements you can easily get from a big-box store, the
omega-3 fatty acids contained in this product are in ethyl ester form.
Omega 3 fatty acids in natural unprocessed fish oil are in the triglyceride form; in
order to remove toxins such as mercury and lead from the raw fish oil, it is often processed
with ethyl alcohol, which converts the Omega 3 fatty acids into the ethyl ester form; but
it needs to be converted back into the natural triglyceride form to improve the absorption
in our body.
So in summary, it is important to pick omega 3 oil supplements that contain adequate amounts
of EPA and DHA that are in the triglyceride form.
The third thing to look out for is the source of the fish oil used in your Omega-3 supplement.
Both farm raised and wild caught fish can be used to make omega 3 fish oil, but oil
from wild caught fish typically contains a higher concentration of the desired omega
3 fatty acids – EPA and DHA.
Fish oils sourced from farm raised fish are typically much cheaper, so why can’t you
just take more servings of the cheaper supplements to get the same amount of omega 3 fatty acids?
Fish that are farm raised and fed with grain typically contain a higher concentration of
Omega 6 and other fatty acids, which may be harmful or pro-inflammatory.
Let’s say, supplement A contains 2400mg of fish oil, 600mg of which are EPA and DHA,
you would need to take almost 3.5 servings of supplement A to get the recommended 2000mg
of EPA and DHA, along with 6300mg of the less healthy and possibly harmful other oils and
the calories from those oils.
In addition, fish oil obtained from fish that are farm raised and fed with grain may possibly
contain pollutants and chemicals that may not be found in wild caught fish.
Not all manufacturers will specify the type of fish they used to source their fish oil
on the package, so you may need to do a little bit of research on your own to find out the
source of the fish used in a given product.
So which three omega-3 oil supplements do I recommend for my patients?
Number one Nordic natural ultimate Omega - liquid form.
I recommend this product because each serving contains 1460 mg of EPA, 1010 mg of DHA, both
are in the triglyceride form.
The fish source is wild caught deep-sea fish from sustainable sources according to the
company.
And the toxin levels in this product are significantly below the maximum allowance set by different
regulatory agencies.
I usually prefer liquid omega-3 oil supplements over capsules, because various materials can
be used to manufacture the capsular shell, and some can decrease the absorption of omega-3
fatty acids in our body, such as methacrylic acid copolymer.
Number two PRN dry eye Omega benefits - liquid form
This is actually the supplement that I personally take.
I would have listed this product number one if weren't for the slight higher price with
the PRN products.
For a 10 oz bottle, this one typically costs about $108, and the Nordic natural product
costs about $72 for an 8 ounce bottle, so it’s about $1.80 per oz difference.
I really like the PRN dry eye Omega benefits because each serving contains 1680 mg of triglyceride
form of EPA, and 560 mg of triglyceride form of DHA.
Also PRN has stated that they are committed to using sustainable sources for their fish
oil, and that they maintain strict testing criteria for purity and toxins.
Number three PRN Omega –V benefits This is one for my vegetarian and vegan viewers,
or those with dietary restrictions.
This is a vegan product that still contains high concentration of triglyceride form of
EPA and DHA.
The source of omega-3 fatty acids in this product is algae, which is the main food source
for many fish.
Each serving contains 330 mg EPA and 670 mg of DHA.
There are limited choices in high quality omega-3 oil supplements for vegetarians and
vegans, or people who limit their consumption of fish or fish products, and this supplement
can provide them with a good amount of high-quality omega-3 fatty acids.
Oil from algae is thought to be significant better than flaxseed oil as a source for omega
3 fatty acids.
The main form of omega-3 fatty acids contained in flaxseed oil is ALA.
As I mentioned before, the conversion of ALA to the effective forms of omega-3 fatty acids
EPA and DHA is less than 5 to 10% in our body.
This makes flaxseed oil a much less effective source of omega-3 fatty acids.
You can find links to all three of the omega-3 oil supplements I recommend for dry eyes in
the description below.
Please remember to always consult with your doctor before taking any high dose of omega-3
oil supplements, to make sure that they are safe and right for you.
Let me know in the comments below if you are taking fish oil or omega-3 oil supplements
now, and which ones are you taking.
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Thank you again for watching and I will see you in my next video.