Here's a crazy idea - Could milk have something to do with MGD?

[Nigelc]

Milk and dry eye

Some years ago i was having sinus problems. The consultant at the local hospital advised me to stop drinking milk to ease the production of mucous. Since stopping milk i believe the dry eyed started. I am going to start back on the milk for a few months and see if it makes any difference

Before you call me crazy, read this abstract:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849420

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understand is that people with MGD have lower levels of cholesteryl esters in their meibum. If this is true, perhaps drinking more 2% milk (which I believe contains chloesteryl esters) could help fix the problem?

What do you think? Is this idea totally crazy, or is there a slither of hope for it?





On a personal note, I started having my dry eye problems when I was 20... and conveniently, it was around that same age that I started to drink a lot less milk...

For the record, I will be as shocked as anyone if any of what I'm saying has merit to it, so please don't think of me as crazy! Even I think this is a super long shot, and I'm the person posting it!

[jenny2008]

hey i am dairy free too and my eyes have not improved.. i am dairy, gluten and soy free... hmmmm.. maybe i should start buying some yummy cheese and see what happens.... what do u guys think? i have been on this crazy diet for 3 months and my sjogrens and mgd still go up and down... no change really..

[jenny2008]

Nigelc..keep us posted... ive been dairy free for 3 months--naturopath said it would help.. i see no help. i do hvae sjogrens and mgd..but my symptoms go up and down

[dryeye4ever]

i had to bump up this thread. What is forgotten here is that milk contains lactoferrin which is considered as an anti oxidant. Its proved to be good for the immune system. Its better to get it in a supplement rather then getting it in pasteurized milk. I would say milk is one of the most underrated ingredient that should be included in our diet.

[bakunin]

Hi,

Well, since we are discussing diets that might help dry eye just thought I'd mention a book/diet I was reading recently and will be trying to implement. It is by Joel Fuhrman called superimmunity. In it, he discusses actually reversing diseases like cancer and symptoms of autoimmune diseases by sticking to a specific diet regimen. Most importantly whole foods, more vegetables and fruits, a lot less meats...like only 10% of your intake. For auto immune he secifically mentions increasing fish oil, controlling intestinal flora (I think he means probiotics), LOTs of leafy greens (kale and spinach)beans and some nuts, taking a multivitamin, avoiding wheat and....going vegan.

His book has recipes which I will try to slowly introduce. I don't want to take on too much or I will quit. I'm not hoping for a miracle but at the very least I will be eating a lot more healthy. The vegan part may not be possible for me. I have already mostly taken out milk and red meat products from my diet but I don't think I can give up eggs and fish occassionally. Actually, I have been known to eat fast food occassionally so I don't know if I will be able to stick to this diet at all.

In any case, Dr. Fuhrman would seem to agree with decreasing milk intake in auto immune cases.

I was vegan for a couple of years few years ago (before the onset of my dry eyes). But my diet was not healthy... a lot of junkie food.

I'm vegan, and 95% gluten free for about one month, following the diet of a nutritionist I went to. Let's see what happens...

[jenny2008]

what is interesting is that there are so many different types of diets for autoimmune and dry eyes... the autoimmune cause and cure (which was posted on here several months back) talked about the importance of meat-of course grass fed.. pasture.. hormone free..etc.. also talked about fermented veggies ..i dont remember what it said about nuts --i know a lot of diets say no to nuts and/or eggs... and of course no to milk... its so confusing..one diet says one thing is good and another diet says another is bad...

the one consistent thing is wheat and possibly gluten i guess..it seems wheat bothers a lot of people..personally my glands actually got a lot of worse when i was on my crazy gf, dairy free, soy free , egg free...etc.. who knows.

[DCRdryeye]

Jenny, to make your way through all the different 'auto-immune' diets and confusion, just go back to basics. What did our ancestors eat 100 yrs ago? They ate from their vegie garden, goats milk (far more better than cows milk), no sprays or hormones involved.

Shop at an organic grocer, go to farmers markets. If it doesn't grow from the ground or a tree - don't eat it. The closer the food is to it's original form in nature, the better you'll be. Absolutely minimize processed foods.

[bakunin]

Jenny, for what i read here and there, and for what my vegan nutritionist is telling me (and making me eat) I think an auto-immune diet means: fermented food (because of the enzimes, I take 1 liter of kefir, that is a fermented natural probiotics); raw veggies and fruits, most as possible. Integral rice is not raw but is an amazig food for health. I would say gluten free is a good idea, I don't think anyone need milk or meat (ok, i'm a vegetarian). Of course your diet needs balance to take the amount of proteins, minerals, vitamins etc.