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My Top 5 Nutrients to support your Eye Health

My Top 5 Nutrients to support your Eye Health

Eye health is a common concern for many people and can include dry eyes, redness, progressively decreasing eye sight, cataracts, age related macular degeneration and more. In fact, my recent visit with my Ophthalmologist is one of many reasons for this blog post (besides popular request!) Apparently my corneal thickness would allow me to undergo a series of laser eye surgeries, which he doesn’t see too often; and he has definitely evaluated a lot of eyes!!! He was impressed, and wanted me to share what I was doing with him, and so this is just some information on a few things you can be doing to help support your eye health.

The focus of this will be on nutrients, but remember, secondary conditions, medications you are taking and your lifestyle play a huge role in eye health.

Your eye contains small blood vessels and relies on tears and certain membranes for nutrients, oxygen, and lubrication. Your body utilizes many of the nutrients you consume for a number of different functions, so lifestyle is extremely important when supporting eye health. Lifestyle habits include a good consumption of fruits and vegetables, wearing sunglasses in bright conditions, proper cleansing of contact lenses, lowering your cell phone brightness, taking breaks from screen time (apply a filter) and not smoking. 

          1.  Vitamin C

Outside of the adrenal glands, the lens contains a higher level of Vitamin C than any other body organ. The aqueous humor supplies the nutrition to the lens of the eye, and can aid in the prevention of lipid peroxidation and regeneration of glutathione. Remember, Vitamin C is well absorbed but is utilized by the body for immune function, collagen synthesis, glutathione   regeneration and so much more. Some of my favourite sources of Vitamin C include Parsley, Rose hip tea, Bell peppers, and Kiwi.

          2.  Zinc

I use Zinc a lot, for a variety of concerns including acne, immune dysfunction, taste/smell changes, DNA synthesis, hormone support, and normal growth and development. There is definitely a fine balance between Zinc and copper, so taking the right dose is important. Most of us have been told to “eat carrots” to help with night vision, which is usually focusing on the precursor to Vitamin A, beta-carotene. Zinc, however, is responsible for bringing Vitamin A to the retina from the liver, to make the protective pigment in our eyes called melanin. Often times we don’t link poor night vision, impaired vision or even cataracts to zinc, but this trace mineral is one of my favourites and is so important! My favourite dietary source of Zinc is oysters; it is also one of the highest food sources containing about 74.0mg per serving. Other sources include: pumpkin seeds, shitake mushrooms, squash and beef.

          3.  Omega-3 Fatty Acids

A lot of people use artificial tears to remedy their dry eyes. Essential fatty acids help for a variety of eye conditions including age related macular degeneration, glaucoma and increased eye pressure. They play a role in promoting proper drainage of intraocular fluid, lubricating the eye and preventing/treating dry eyes. It takes time for omega-3’s to make a significant change in your fatty acid profile, so regular consumption over time is required to notice the benefits. Also, avoiding high omega-6 foods, hydrogenated oils and trans-fats can help improve your omega-3 fatty acid profile. Many sources of omega-3 fatty acids also contain supportive nutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Calcium, which are important for our overall health. Dietary sources include herring, sardines, anchovies, and salmon. I find that it can be difficult to obtain therapeutic levels if you are not consuming these regularly, so I   often recommend a good quality fish oil supplement if you are treating a condition, not just preventing it!

          4. Astaxanthin

Haven’t heard of it? Its cousin’s lycopene, lutein, beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol are in the same family of naturally occurring pigments called carotenoids. Usually emphasized for their anti-oxidant, free radical scavenging activity, astaxanthin really is a bit unique. I chose to include this for eye health because unlike its cousins it can pass the blood-brain and blood-retinal barrier (so impressive!), allowing it to exhibit its effects specifically to support eye health. It is found in algae, and has a wide variety of benefits such as UVB absorber (UVB I like to think of as the UV rays that “burn,”) protecting the skin from radiation and damage, and supporting brain health. Research around astaxanthin focuses on its use in ARMD (Age related macular degeneration,) diabetic neuropathy, central retinal arterial and venous occlusion, inflammatory eye conditions and glaucoma. 

          5.  Vitamin A

Vitamin A really does function best in the presence of other nutrients. Surprisingly, many people lack in Vitamin A which I believe is partly due to overburdening of the liver. Some common conditions associated with Vitamin A deficiency include type I diabetes, liver disease, alcoholism, follicular hyperkeratosis (bumps on the back of the arm), and hypothyroidism. Night blindness is often where Vitamin A plays a strong role, because retinal is a key part of rhodopsin which is the pigment responsible for absorbing light and allowing us to seeing in dim light. I strongly believe that Vitamin A is often overlooked, but its role in our body is extensive. Ensuring you are not trying to conceive, and have a healthy liver, are a few reasons to be careful when supplementing Vitamin A. See your Naturopathic Doctor to ensure you are consuming this nutrient in therapeutic and safe doses for your concerns. 

It is always important to keep in mind that when you take a lifestyle approach or even an orthomolecular one, nutrients are vital for many functions in our body. There are symptoms you exhibit that indicate where you may be lacking in nutrients. 

Medications can also deplete certain nutrients, for example Metformin and Vitamin B12, Oral-contraceptive pills and Vitamin B6 and B9, and some are known to be side effects for eye health such as statins and cataract development.

So when using nutrition and nutrient therapy to replete, always remember your body needs these important nutrients for a variety of important processes, and there may be areas that will be prioritized first, before you see an improvement. The priority is always the best outcome for you, whether that means, vitamins, diet, herbs or even pharmaceuticals. 

Assessing where improvements can be made, safely and effectively, is part of outcome based medicine! 

By: Dr. Mashael Mawji, ND
BSc. FNH (Hon)

Skin - Is there a quick fix to problematic, aging skin?

As someone who suffered from eczema, psoriasis, hyper-pigmentation and acne for years, I understand how frustrating it is to have no control over your skin. We aggressively cleanse, over medicate, and apply too many products that really don’t remedy the problem as part of the fear response, the fear that if we do not do something it will get worse. Often times we strip the skin or apply so many barriers that our skin can’t even breathe. If the placebo or subtle change of it improving begins, its never to last indefinitely, only for the cycle of skin stuff to start again with any sort of stress, change in lifestyle, change in temperature or even change in soap. 

Let me tell you, my skin journey has included everything from top of the line skin care, laser treatments, facials, chemical peels, at home masks, blu-U light therapy, steroids, antibiotics (topical and internal) and even Accutane in my teens. After each treatment, new antibiotics or anything else, I would have hope, that my skin would improve, and stay better. It never did.

Today, I go for facials occasionally, take a plethora of supplements, hydrate appropriately, eat well and use very basic skin care. My skin is great, and I often wear little to no makeup, finally being able to show off my skin after envying people for years, who had great bare clean skin. So you might be thinking, is it what I was using that has made this change? Am I seeing a new aesthetician? Was it puberty causing this? (No, this does not last 12 years!) Its none of the above. 

I believe that superficial facial treatments can enhance your skin and improve your skin, but they cannot change your skin. 

We spend tons of money on these treatments, expecting a full change in our skin. Some of the more aggressive treatments can definitely “change”your skin, by resurfacing or tightening it, but fundamentally, your body supplies the building blocks for this so your final lasting outcome is dependent on you. You cannot achieve good skin if you are toxic, inflamed, don’t drink enough water and have a poor diet or the wrong diet for you (unless you have strong genetics, but trust me that doesn’t last forever.) 

There is no quick fix to changing your skin.

There are many quick fixes to improvingyour skin, but when your body is producing new cells daily, what you have available and the internal environment of your body will determine what shows up outside. Your internal environment is everything from genetics, other conditions such as PCOS, asthma, food allergies, hormones and more; but it is most importantly your diet. Antiglycation endpoints also known as AGE’s aren’t great for your cardiovascular health, and they show up in the skin as hyper-pigmentation and uneven tone. High aerobic activity and clean eating but not consuming the right type of fat might show up as thin skin, sunken temples, and hard face that looks dehydrated and aged. Consuming high mucus forming foods might be making you puffy, your features undefined, and having the appearance of poor bone structure. Chronic acne can be due to so many things not limited but including, poor gut health, toxic overload from heavy metals, parasites, too much heat in your body (from a TCM perspective), food sensitivities, chronic inflammation or more.  

The approach you take to skin is dependent on you. 

Sometimes we need conventional therapies such as accutane, steroids and antibiotics to get things under control, but the burden this puts on the body requires us to also replace, replenish and support what these treatments alter. This can include our liver metabolism, our gut micro biome, nutrient status, and skin thickness and sensitivity to light. Its a double edged sword, where there is no one size fits all approach because the cause of the problem is different for everyone. 

I have used a a lifestyle approach to skin, and it works. The benefit of this approach is not only that I no longer have acne, hyper-pigmentation, eczema or psoriasis, but my skin texture has improved, I look radiant, my hair and nails are healthier, my gut is happy and I feel good. On my journey to improve my skin, I improved my overall health. There is no perfect, it takes self awareness and when I burden my body too long, things will start to show up, but its not often, its easier to control, and it doesn’t last long. 

So I am not saying don’t use good skin care, or not to have enhancement treatments, but what I am saying is that these are the accessories to your skin. 

Anything that you do that is causing skin cell turnover, micro-inflammation, using your own blood products (PRP), or influencing tightening through collagen formation will benefit from supporting your body first. 

Ensure you have the right building blocks and co-factors to not only form great skin, but that your body can eliminate waste appropriately so that you look healthy, young and radiant. Take a holistic approach to your appearance, its not a quick fix, and it can take some time depending on the concern,

but in my experience its absolutely worth it.

 

Written by: Dr. Mashael Mawji, ND BSc. FNH (Hon)