Greetings to everyone! Thank-you, first, for taking the time to read my post.

For the most part, I consider myself a vegetarian, with the bulk of my diet consisting of fruit, although not in abundance that would qualify me as a full fruitarian. I have currently been eating cooked foods, rarely - perhaps once or twice a week, but am quickly moving away from this practice - special thanks to the information provided on this site! I adopted this change in eating habits mid-2003 (so, about 3 years ago). Since then I have developed a dry eye condition that, at times, can become very severe, whereas before, I did not experience any severe problems and was able to wear contact lenses, which I now cannot do.

A little more detail about my diet. I primarily consume mango, apples, and bananas, as well as peaches, and pears. I more occasionally consume pineapple and dates. I also eat vegetables, but about 1/4 as much in relation to my fruit intake, which consists of red peppers, spinach, romaine, baby greens, carrots, etc. I try very hard to stay away from any type of grain product, especially wheat/bread, etc. But, whenever I do "backslide" into a craving, I usually stick to rice, which is very infrequent (perhaps 2-4 times a month). I believe this craving sometimes comes from a lack of overall calories from my primarily fruit/vegetable diet and work stress.

I've been wondering lately whether this dry eye condition is a result of my excessive intake of sweet fruits, and perhaps I've created an overloaded condition on my pancreas and other organs. I usually eat sliced apples, bananas, and mangos in as a combination fruit bowl and that usually will constitute the majority of my meals. As is somewhat common w/ fruitarian lifestyles, I sometimes tend to overeat at these meals, which I am now focusing on controlling by way of incorporating more vegetables and weaning myself of the excessive sugar intake from fruit (although I still plan on including fruit in my diet, just not at such large quantities at one sitting, and not as frequently).

Just one note: although I now have eliminated all animal products from my diet, I used to consume fish oil supplements as I learned omega-3s were advantageous to dry eye, but have recently ceased this practice (now not consuming any omega-3 supplements) and have noticed no change in my condition, at least in that they were not providing any benefit while taking them. And, my condition seems to have improved somewhat since cessation of the fish oils. If I were to pick up use of omega-3 supplements, I would do so via evening primrose or black currant seed oils, and I don't wish to participate in animal product consumption.

I would greatly appreciate anyone's feedback with regards to my currentl lifestyle and what negative implacations it may have on my dry eye condition, and/or whether anyone believes I may be overdoing the sweet fruit - or just feedback in general for that matter!

Thank-you and have a great day!
-Jayburd

Hello everyone! I just wanted to post a bit of an update. I've been exercising regularly for a while now - dancing, aerobic walking, etc., and I've been doing very well with controlling my portions of fruit. I'm very excited about this! However, I am still experiencing very slight dry eye, but not to the extreme that is debilitating in any way. I do no have to use eye drops or anything like that, but rather think they could be more hydrated.

Thanks, and have a great day!
-Jayburd

fats are essential in dry eye syndrome
here is a link how flax seeds can help with this. I've had the same problem, not being able to wear contacts for a while, so I started eating few tbsp of ground flax seeds in my salads daily. And it's getting much better.

[whfoods.com]

hoping this will help you too

Hi, jayburd -

Hmm...I wonder if you have something of erosion of the cornea? I had that before I went raw...it made my eyes feel very dry....the cornea sort of stuck to the lid first thing in the morning especially and ripped some off upon awakening....ouch. It's gone now. I've been 100% raw/living for many years now. I dont actually eat fruit, as I feel unwell when I do. I'ts been months without fruit and i feel much better. Lots of green/sprouts, some soaked seeds, iincluding flax.

If you're at all dehydrated that might be a problem, too.

Sounds like you're getting to know, support yourself well. I appreciate that!

Good luck and may the moisture be with you!

GeneticPromise

From personal experience, not consuming enough of the right kind of fats caused me to become very "dry."

A low fat diet caused dry, flaky skin on my hands, face, and less lubrication of my joints which became evident as I have experienced joint pain, including bursitis of the hips.

We've all heard about fats, the good, the bad, the why. In fact, in the Cooking Light magazine (my mother in-law's a fan) for this month there is a small snippet on a study finding that women who ate more omega-3's did not have dry eyes as opposed to those who didn't.

So I say, fats.

I have dry eyes and was glad to read this about taking flax seeds. Drinking 2 quarts or more of water a day has helped.