not sure what suppliments to take

[fed up kate]

HI there

youve probably been asked this a million times but im kinda new to all this and still researching to what my dry eye actually is but ive been taking 2800 of cod liver oil everyday but i just wanted to know is that enough or what is the maxium you cant take as i dont know wether to take flaxseed oil on top of that or instead if its better but will it make nay difference to my symptoms.
thank you in advance

[Michael Lange OD]

I have finally made it back home for a few days, sorry for the delay in answering, I have been traveling on research for Fortifeye Vitamins. I think the amount of Cod Liver Oil u are taking is fine. I would really need to know the amount of EPA and DHA to be a bit more helpful. Cod liver oil is a good source of Vitamin A and D. However very few people in Developed countries are deficinet in vitamin a and therefore dont need additioanl viatmin a. Too much vitamin a becomes toxic to the brain, liver and bones. So too much cod liver oil could pose a problem with vitamin a, it wold be difficult to get to much vitamin d from cod livr oil and some vry new research may suggest ttat we may want up to 100ng/ml on t 25 oh vitamin d test! Vittamin D we are finding may be benfitial for dry eyes do to its ant inflammatory effects. Most dry eye formulas have vitamin a to help eliminate tte possibility of goblet cell atrophy related to vitamin a deficiency. Only a minority of patients have a vitamin a deficiency in USA, vegetarians on statin drugs, gastro bypass surgery , celiac disease, chrons and ulcerative colllitis to mention a few. I think flax is better ground than in oil form annd ifyo are going to take multiple spoon fulls of cod liver oil swithc to regular fish oil. A few other nutrients that may have some value for dry eyes are GLA, NAC, Vitamin C, Quercetin, Bromelain, D3, gamma tochopherol, curcummin and sessame . Hope this helps.

Michael Lange OD, CNS
www.fortifeye.com

[Michael Lange OD]

Great question. Sorry for the delay in repling I have been at many conferences . You must be very careful when taking cod liver oil, cod liver oil is high in vitamin A and Vitamin D, not very high in the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA. If you take too much cod liver oil you can get toxic levels of vitamin a that is neuro toxic, liver toxic and may increase your risk of osteoparosis!!! It is difficult to get too much vitamin D but the A is a different story. If you are a vegatarian that has had gastric bypass surgery and is taking statin drugs then you may be a candidate to be deficient in vitamin a but most of us have plenty in our diet! Same with beta carotene, we get enough in our diet. The reasonm for taking a good omega three supplement is to get some of the anti inflammatory benfits that may benefit dry eyes. The best source is triglyceride based fish oil. You want to look for a minimum of EPA around 1600 and DHA close to 1000. Remember flax seed oil isnt that great unless you are female of child bearing age. Get a good fish oil like Nordic Naturals, Omega Essentials by LifeGuard or Carlsons Liquid. I have been working on the next generation in Dry Eye Supplementation for about six months now. I have almost finalized the formula with the biochemists, it will be called Fortifeye Dry Eye Therapy Plus. I will post something on the site when i have it finalized very soon.

Michael Lange OD, CNS
www.fortifeye.com
www.langeeyecare.com

[Michael Lange OD]

What is the 2800 of cod liver oil? Is this 2800 total mgs? First off i guess you are taking the cod liver oil for dry eyes? I dont like high dosages of cod liver oil do to the vitamin a content. If you arent a vegetarian then you probably dont have a vitamin a deficiency therefore you dont need additional vitamin a. Studies now indicate that too much vitamin a may be a reason we have so much neuro degeneration and osteoparosis in our country. Vitamin a is in your foods and almost every vitamin on the shelf. Vitamin a is one of the most dangerous of the vitamins. Easy to over dose with A . I dont like beata carotene either!! Now if you have read my thoughts on Flax seed you will see I am not a big fan of flax seed oil unless you are a female of child bearing age. I like organic flax seeds freshly ground however. If using vitamin therapy for Dry eyes it can get complicated. Dry eyes are related to inflamation but many natural anti inflammatories have some risks involved in taking them. There are many good supplements on the market that work quite well. I developed a supplement called Fortifeye Dry Eye Therapy that has worked well since i came out with it about five years ago. I have been in the process of re developing the product and have finally finsihed it. The newest dry eye therapy product will be called Fortifeye Dry Eye Therapy Plus and will be available around December. this product will be a combination of a few gel caps and capsules probably in a sterile packet with once a day dosing or in foiled inserts not sure yet. It will have numerous changes to the current product that will only enhance its benefits. I will have some cutting edge nutrients that are not in any dry eye formula currently. I will keep the site posted on when it is available.
oh by the way I did answer this question once much earlier but my reply must have been lost. i have been away at many conferences promoting proper nutrtion and vitamin therapy to Drs from all over the world.

Michael P. Lange OD, CNS
www.fortifeye.com
www.langeeyecare.com

[Michael Lange OD]

This is the third time i anserwerd this, lol, i dont know if i have a problem on my end or not with this message going thru. I need to knopw how much EPA and DHA is in the cod liver oil before i can give you a great answer. However i dont like high amounts of cod liver oil because of the toxicity issues with vitamin a, too much vitamin a is very bad and will increase your risk of liver problems, osteoparosis and macular degeneration. I think cod liver oil a few times a month is fine, however the real reason people take cod liver oil is for the eseential fatty acids EPA and DHA, i think you can get much higher levels of EPA and DHA by taking a molecullarly distilled triglyceride based fish oil product, on our website www.fortifeye.com there is a product i thikis one of the best on the market called omega essentials, however you can get Nordic Naturals at the helath food store , a great fish oil. We will be coming out with a supe high concentrated natural triglyceride fish oil in December and a new dry eye therapy product as well around this time. Eat more wild fish like alaskan salmon and sardines. Flax seed oil in my opinion is just about useless for the omega three component unless you are a female of child bearing age. Fish oil a much better source, Krill oil is a good source of omega three, squid oil is a good source as well. Fish oil however has been studied more than any other type of omga three. So let me know the exact nutreint profile on the bottle of your cod liver oil and i will be more helpful. good luck and i hope you do get this message this time.

Mike Lange OD, CNS
Fortify Vitamins
www.fortifeye.com

[fed up kate]

Mike

im really sorry in the delay also i forgot to check back for a reply so i really hope you get this.
well i have major problems in swallowing big capsules so ive beeen piercing fish oil capsules and draining them.
i was taking cod liver oil but i thought fish oil would be better is that correct?

i avoided flaxseed from what youve said but here is the ingrediants to the fish oil i am taking....
fish oil 1.000mg
typically provding
EPA
DHA
total omega 3 fatty acids 300mg
vitamin e 10%

but it doesnt say how much is the EPA and DHA but i take 3 capsules.

hope this make sense and you can advice me on what i should be taking.

or anything else you can recommend that would be great

thank you so much for getting back i wish i checked back sooner but i thought my message didnt get to you

kate

[fed up kate]

sorry just relised the EPA and DHA is 300mg.

so to some up im just desperate to find a good supplement to take for dry eyes,and anything i can get in the UK

Is barleans omega swirl any good?

just searching for a liquid supplement or something easy to swallow
just a bit lost and confused with it all

thank you

[Michael Lange OD]

The combined 300 mg of EPA and DHA is not anywhere enough to get any dry eye relief. I usually recommend patients taking around 1600-1800 EPA and 1000-1200 dha in the beginning for about one month and then tapering back to half the amount unless directed by your physician otherwise. Our new FDortifeye Super Omega would be four pills a day for at least a month then down to two a day thereafter. However many patients with elevated triglycerides, arthritis and dry eyes may take four a day long term. So try to find those levels of fish oil and make sure they have a triple molecular distillation and are natural triglyceride and not ethel ester fish oil. Let me know how you do.

Michael Lange OD, CNS
www.fortifeye.com

[fed up kate]

thank you for replying

oh right i really am way off takin the right amount.
ive been searching for fish oil with what you recomended and really struggling.
the omega swirl that is sold on here is only EPA Content 365mg per 1 tablespoon
DHA Content 365mg per 1 tablespoon

not sure if you cant take more of that or not.

do you have any recommendations or do you post any of your products to the UK?

thank you for your help

[fed up kate]

sorry forgot to ask you if cod liver oil is any good?
im not sure what the diference between cod liver and fish oil is

thank you again

[Michael Lange OD]

I would stay awya from cod liver oil, too much vitamin A!! not enough EPA and DHA. heading to Norway tomorrow for some omega three research, will try to get back online and be a little more frequent at asnwering these questions. Dr. Mike lange