Nutrition
Having a Well-Balanced Diet is Important to Our Overall Health, But Are We Giving Enough Thought to the Health of Our Eyes?
Nutrition matters, and because we are what we eat, it is important to eat well to feel well. A healthy and balanced diet provides the essential nutrients that are needed for both overall health and ocular health.
Currently, the standard North American diet does not provide the proper balance of essential fatty acids, namely the omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The American Heart Association recommends eating 2 servings of fish (particularly fatty fish) per week.
A serving is 3 ounces cooked, or about ¾ cup of flaked fish. Fatty fish like anchovies, herring, mackerel, black cod, salmon, sardines, bluefin tuna, whitefish, striped bass and cobia are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
While having a diet that includes fresh fish, seafood, fruits, nuts, and green leafy vegetables is an important factor when it comes to both overall and ocular health, the recommended daily amount of essential nutrients may still be lacking. To supplement a patient’s diet and to help account for other factors that can cause reduced amounts of essential nutrients to be absorbed in body, eye care professionals can recommend a nutritional supplement to balance out what is missing.
To get inspired to cook with healthy eye foods, visit our CHEF Recipes here
Essential Nutrients for Overall Health and Ocular Health
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids, which are the omega-3 fatty acids and the omega-6 fatty acids, are necessary to maintain good health, but they cannot be synthesized by the human body. Therefore, it is important to consume the recommended daily amounts of these essential fatty acids.
"There is definitely an imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the Western diet, we have too much omega-6. To fix this, we need to decrease the amount of omega-6s we eat, and we need to increase the amount of omega-3s we take. Fixing the diet plus adding in an omega-3 supplement is what I recommend!"
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Consuming foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, namely, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is essential for overall and ocular health, but most Americans are not getting the recommended daily amounts of these nutrients from diet alone.
A daily dose of a multi-vitamin and/or omega-3 will enhance the maintenance of both overall and ocular health and can be an effective way to reduce the onset of dry eyes and/or inflammation in patients that show signs of marginal osmolarity.
Quality Matters. Why Omega-3 Fatty Acids Should Be in the Re-Esterified Triglyceride Form
I-MED Pharma omega-3 supplements provide the optimal amounts of these beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in the re-esterified triglyceride form (rTG), which allows for easier absorption into the bloodstream.
Our Superior Formulation Results in Increased Potency and Efficacy
I-MED Pharma omega-3 supplements are meticulously formulated in consultation with industry and clinical experts, and molecularly distilled in a licensed facility.
I-VU® OMEGA-3 PLUS capsules and I-VU® OMEGA-3 liquid provides these important omega-3 fatty acids in the re-esterified triglyceride form (rTG). This involves removing the alcohol content from the synthetic alcohol-based omega-3s and converting them into the purified re-esterified triglyceride form. This additional purification step causes the bio-availability of omega-3s to be much higher than the ethyl ester form. The benefit to the patient is a higher percentage of fish oils is absorbed into the bloodstream. As a result, the product is more potent and effective.
Not all omega-3 supplements are created equally. Most commercially available omega-3 manufacturers do not perform this additional
re-esterification step, leading to unpurified, synthetic formulations.
Our Nutritional Supplements Offer the Following Benefits for Overall Health:
- Helps support cardiovascular health
- Helps support cognitive health and brain function
- Helps support immune function
- Helps to promote healthy mood balance
- Helps to reduce serum triglycerides
Learn More About I-MED Pharma’s Nutritional Supplements
I-VU® OMEGA-3 PLUS
[1] Yildirim, Pelin, Yesim Garip, Ayse Aslihan Karci, and Tuba Guler. 2016. “Dry Eye in Vitamin D Deficiency: More Than an Incidental Association.” International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases 19 (1): 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-185X.12727.
