Which nutritional supplements do you best rate?

[Alix]

I have been battling evaporative dry eye/chronic inflammation for almost a year now. I have always followed a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced diet (although have sweet tooth), no smoking, no alcohol (though drink coffee), exercise 3 times a week. So while I believe I get all the vitamins I need through my diet, I have been taking nutritional supplements since the beginning of the year in the hope it might help my condition, but because none of them seem to be having any effect and due to the expense, I am not going to buy any more once my current supplies end, except for omega 3, flaxseed oil, and multivitamin (not sure they are doing anything but can't be doing any harm).

That said, if there is anything which I haven't tried yet, which might help, I am interested.

So my question is, apart from the standard omega/flaxseed oil supplements, are there any particular supplements you are taking which have been a game changer, which you have seen real benefits from taking?

FYI here are the supplements I have tried and tested;-

Supplements I have been taking for 11 months and will continue to do so;-

Omega 3 oil
Flaxseed oil
Multivitamin (Vitamin A, C, E, iron, zinc, magnesium)

Supplements which I am currently taking (for 3-6 months) but will stop due to inefficacy;-

Seabuckthorn oil
Udo's oil
CLA
Cayenne pepper
Bilberry
Eyebright
Trans Resveratrol
Curcumin
Vitamin D
Hyaluronic acid
Collagen

Supplements which I have taken in the past (for 1-3 months), but stopped due to inefficacy;-

Lutein
Turmeric
Royal Jelly
Evening Primrose Oil
Maqui Berry
Taurine
Co-enzyme Q10
Maca powder
+ surely some others which I have forgotten about....

[Guest]

One thing I would suggest is do not stop the vitamin d3. How much are you taking? I’m guessing a very small amount, how many iu are you taking over day? I didn’t notice an effect until I started taking minimum 7000iu. I currently take 10,000iu per day. I didn’t just guess at this number, these are the doses that actually increased my vitamin d on my bloodwork. So I’d say get some bloodwork done too to see if you’re deficient and if so by how much. That way you can actually track the effects.

Sadly not much else has been a game changer aside from what you mentioned, fish oil, black currant seed oil, multivitamin and d3. The key to these supplements is having a high quality brand. Which is hard to find.

To be honest, I think you’d be better served trying to reduce your sugar intake to as close to zero as possible. Eating zero sugar, that would be a game changer. I’ve been eating sugar a couple times a week. This last week I didn’t eat sugar the entire week, I literally just got busy and never bought any cookies or ice cream. That was the best week I’ve had in a long time. So after today, I’m going zero sugar. I just had a bunch of pie for thanksgiving so I’m ready to go lol. I think an antioxidant like vitamin C or NAC wouldn’t hurt either but is it going to be a game changer, not at all.

[Alix]

One thing I would suggest is do not stop the vitamin d3. How much are you taking? I’m guessing a very small amount, how many iu are you taking over day? I didn’t notice an effect until I started taking minimum 7000iu. I currently take 10,000iu per day. I didn’t just guess at this number, these are the doses that actually increased my vitamin d on my bloodwork. So I’d say get some bloodwork done too to see if you’re deficient and if so by how much. That way you can actually track the effects.

Sadly not much else has been a game changer aside from what you mentioned, fish oil, black currant seed oil, multivitamin and d3. The key to these supplements is having a high quality brand. Which is hard to find.

To be honest, I think you’d be better served trying to reduce your sugar intake to as close to zero as possible. Eating zero sugar, that would be a game changer. I’ve been eating sugar a couple times a week. This last week I didn’t eat sugar the entire week, I literally just got busy and never bought any cookies or ice cream. That was the best week I’ve had in a long time. So after today, I’m going zero sugar. I just had a bunch of pie for thanksgiving so I’m ready to go lol. I think an antioxidant like vitamin C or NAC wouldn’t hurt either but is it going to be a game changer, not at all.

Thank you for your advice.

I am taking 400iu of vitamin D - on the bottle it says this is 200% of the recommended daily value, so I am reluctant to take any more especially as I already get exposure to a decent amount of sunlight.

I have not tried black currant seed oil, I did hear somewhere that it is pro-inflammatory though, I'll have to read up more about it.

NAC is something that I could possibly try, again I need to so some research.

As for zero sugar, yes I know it adds no value and is best avoided but it is hard to stop. If it meant no more burning eyes though I could definitely sacrifice it but I am sceptical. You must have very strong willpower!

[Guest]

Thank you for your advice.

I am taking 400iu of vitamin D - on the bottle it says this is 200% of the recommended daily value, so I am reluctant to take any more especially as I already get exposure to a decent amount of sunlight.

I have not tried black currant seed oil, I did hear somewhere that it is pro-inflammatory though, I'll have to read up more about it.

NAC is something that I could possibly try, again I need to so some research.

As for zero sugar, yes I know it adds no value and is best avoided but it is hard to stop. If it meant no more burning eyes though I could definitely sacrifice it but I am sceptical. You must have very strong willpower!

You need a blood panel to check your d3 levels. Do not assume that the percentage on that bottle is correlated to you. I’m 6’3” 220lbs and athletic and I never go outside, do you think that you and I would have the same daily requirements for d3? That daily requirement is incorrect. The goal is to get your vitamin d into the optimal level. Only way to do that is test blood, take a dose, retest and see where you land. It may be more than enough, it may not.

High leptin levels increase MMP7 and MMP9. When you eat excess sugar and processed foods, you interrupt leptins ability to tell your brain, I’m full or I’m hungry. Not to mention the inflammation I just mentioned. Once leptin is effected, so is your thyroid hormone. That’s why I said out of everything you could do, sugar is the number one thing you need to remove. That includes fructose from fruit. Reset your leptin and hormone levels and you’ll have less circulating inflammation. People take drugs to prevent inflammation, what if you could do it by eating better? Just saying, I’ve been researching my disease and it seems it’s genetic but I’ve made it worse and accelerated the progression by poor eating habits. I used to be a bodybuilder, in order to grow. I had to eat excess calories day after day fir years. They were all clean calories, but it was still excessive so it didn’t matter. I got big muscularity and I was ravaging my hormones. Everything I was doing in regards to food was making my eyes worse. Because it was also making my sleep apnea worse and my metabolism worse.

EDIT: I’m hoping I can get my diet right. I have no sugar in my house. I’ll eat all my fruit til it’s gone and then start getting strict. I may fail. I’m human. It’s very hard to eat perfectly especially if you’re depressed. I used to be able to just flip a switch and just eat healthy. I can’t do it so easily now after the eye issue. So don’t be hard on yourself, just try.

[MGD1701]

I prefer to know what I am lacking first so did blood tests on Omega 3, 6, Vit. A, D, B, Zinc etc.
Most people have insufficient Vit. D - due to lack of sun exposure.

Fish oil is complicated - effective one is expensive as bad stuffs (e.g. heavy metals) need to be removed.
poor quality ones do more harm than good.
Most experts in USA recommend HydroEye (with GLA) and PRN (no GLA).
Maybe good to know their contents etc.
omega 3 + GLA are much effective than omega 3 alone,
many American experts say and based on my experience, it is true.

[Guest]

I prefer to know what I am lacking first so did blood tests on Omega 3, 6, Vit. A, D, B, Zinc etc.
Most people have insufficient Vit. D - due to lack of sun exposure.

Fish oil is complicated - effective one is expensive as bad stuffs (e.g. heavy metals) need to be removed.
poor quality ones do more harm than good.
Most experts in USA recommend HydroEye (with GLA) and PRN (no GLA).
Maybe good to know their contents etc.
omega 3 + GLA are much effective than omega 3 alone,
many American experts say and based on my experience, it is true.

Well said!

[Meibum Ian]

Can't say how effective each is as they weren't begun in isolation from other treatments, but I'm taking:

Omega 3 fish oil
Sea buckthorn oil
Vit D
NAC
Lactoferrin (Mentioned in TFOS DEWS II but doesn't seem widely used here)
Eyegum (sold in spain) - lutein and zeaxanthin. I think this may be helping as I'm a a bit worse when I forget it.

[Alix]

I am taking good quality omega 3 oil, and have just bought NAC.

I had another check up with the doctor today who confirmed that in my case controlling inflammation is key, and that the Ikervis I am using should help do this.
I didn't ask him about dietary change for fear of being shot down, but I know that sugar is pro inflammatory so yes it totally does make sense to cut it out.

My eyes are still burning badly as ever despite everything I am doing, so I'm now feeling like I don't have much choice but at least give this a go.

[Guest]

Can't say how effective each is as they weren't begun in isolation from other treatments, but I'm taking:

Omega 3 fish oil
Sea buckthorn oil
Vit D
NAC
Lactoferrin (Mentioned in TFOS DEWS II but doesn't seem widely used here)
Eyegum (sold in spain) - lutein and zeaxanthin. I think this may be helping as I'm a a bit worse when I forget it.

Thanks for posting on the lactoferrin, gonna give it a shot. Sounds promising.

[Alix]

I hadn't heard of Lactoferrin, agreed it looks promising upon quick research. I have bought this, as well as black currant oil, have nothing to lose at this point.

Thank you both! @Dowork123 . @Meibum Ian

[SirDryEye]

I wouldn’t obsess to much about supplements - but yes a clean healthy diet with zero sugar would definelty help your symptoms. I took fish oil + flaxseed for a good few months and experience no changes.