Could What You Eat Impact Your Dry Eyes?
Dry eyes. Ugh. They are uncomfortable. Sometimes itchy, sometimes red. Always unpleasant.
I’m one of those people that didn’t know I had any type of allergies until I was well into my twenties. I thought I got a lot of colds and knew to buy stock in tissue companies because at the rate I used them, someone was bound to make a profit.
So, one day, while flipping through the channels I caught a PBS special on food allergies and I was surprised by what I heard. The author of a book on the same topic was explaining the impact food allergies have on our lives and the symptoms of reactions to different foods were virtually the same as reacting to pollen in the air.
I bought the book, devoured it, and then took a trip to my doctor’s office to ask one question, “Could I have food allergies?”
The answer: Of course you could.
Elimination Diet
The doctor’s office had me do something called an elimination diet where I took all possible food allergens out of my meals for 21 days. That wasn’t fun. Eating no soy, dairy, sugar, nuts, gluten, corn, citrus and eggs was an adjustment. Pizza, ice cream, brownies, and my beloved peanut butter all had to go.
But, what happened was amazing. I felt really good. And, you know what also happened?
No More Dry Eyes
My eyes weren’t dry. At all. Not even on a long flight across the country (airplane air would always kill my eyes!). Not after a day at the park surrounded by trees and flowers and all sorts of allergens that would have kept me reaching for the eye drops for days.
After my 21 days of clean and allergy free eating were over, I re-introduced the foods I had eliminated. I found out that corn and dairy are no longer friends to my system and quickly felt the difference between how I felt when I ate those foods (or foods that contained those ingredients) and when my system was clear of them.
Today, my eyes are dry and although I want to look outside and blame the freshly cut grass, I know the truth: the nachos (corn chips and melted cheese) I consumed at the baseball game last night are the culprits!
If you have chronic dry eye and feel like you’ve tried many different options, consider talking to your doctor about whether or not food allergies could be a contributor. Your America’s Best optometrist may offer some other solutions so you don’t have to suffer any more!
