Are your eyes feeling dry and itchy? How about your skin? Mine too, even here in Southern California (shhh…don’t tell anyone the weather here isn’t perfect) no matter how much water I drink.
Healthy fats are the key to keep your eyes and skin feeling supple and healthy throughout the winter. Avocados, nuts, olive oil (and olives), and fish like salmon all are good sources of these fats. They enable our skin to keep a strong moisture barrier, reduce itchiness caused by inflammation, and can help our eyes produce enough tears to stay comfortable.
If this isn’t enough, you can double up on your fish oil – or give you an incentive to keep taking it! Fish oil too fishy? Keep it in the freezer, so that it’s too far down the digestive tract to bother you when it melts. Or try the new krill oil supplements – these are often smaller capsules than traditional fish oil and rarely taste fishy.
When you buy fish or krill oil supplements, make sure they are from a reputable brand and a store with frequent turnover. Look for the USP symbol on the label and if they claim to be free of mercury and other contaminants. Most have about 1 gram (1,000 mg) per dose – check the label for the number of capsules they recommend as one dose. Regular maintenance dose is 1 gram, you can double that for more relief. Of course, your physician recommends you take more, keep it up. If you take a blood thinner, check with your physician before changing your fish oil dose.
Isn’t it great when the solution is eating more fat? Enjoy avocado on your salad and peanut butter on your apple, and kiss dry, itchy skin and eyes goodbye.
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