Black Currant Seed oil?

[valene2009]

Prairie Gal just mentioned she thinks black currant seed oil has really helped her dry eyes.. i was wondering if anyone else on here takes it for their eye dryness?  i hope someone else can respond.. thank you so very much!!!

[gphx]

Very interesting. This study shows improvement in Schirmer (eye moisture) tests in those taking evening primrose oil:

http://www.naturaleyecare.com/study.asp?s_num=40

The reason I bring it up is after you mentioned the currant oil I looked it up and apparently it has even more of the essential acids believed responsible for the improvement than the evening primrose oil.

I've used fish oil and evening primrose. Perhaps I should consider replacing the primrose with currant oil. Thanks for the tip.

[ohiolady]

I've watched Prarie Gal's post and plan on adding Currant Oil to my other supplements.   I've taken fish oil since the beginning of my diagnosis and feel that it has helped me. 

Anna

[valene2009]

i just ordered some borage oil.. it seems that it has the most GLA in it.. I am going to try ith at 200 mg of GLA along with the fish oil  i take.. everything i have read so far says it can be beneficial (GLA that is) for a lot of health reasons as well as dry eye... we shall see... it seems that this type of omega 6 is anti inflammatory.. let me know if you give it a try as well..

[ohiolady]

Valene,

I read a book my an immunologist that used borage oil and fish oil, along with an anti-inflammatory diet to reduce inflammation in body.  I think he was at John Hopkins.  Anyway, his own sister had RA since childhood and she saw results after two weeks.  He did this as clinical research so it is backed by studies.  I plan on cutting the sugar after Christmas and following more closely.  The diet is basically Mediteranean.  He did allow sugar free pudding and ice cream as treats.  I think he was factoring in the human element and allowed those for treats.

Anna

[valene2009]

thanks.. i plan on taking 100-200 mg of the GLA... it seems that is about the right amount to take along with the fish oil i take...
thanks for letting me know about that study.. i basically follow a mediteranian diet anyway and avoid the fried foods but maybe the increase of good omega 6 in the form of GLA will help..

[Prairie Gal]

I used to take 5 of the Black Currant Seed Oil capsules daily -- that provided 400 mg. of GLA.  Since my rheumy added fish oil (4 g. daily) I take just 4.  That gives me 320 mg. of GLA.

When my rheumy recommended I take them, I said I'd never heard of them and asked where to buy them.  He gave me the details.  (I don't think I should push a specific company here, but feel free to PM me if you want the information.)

A friend commented a few months ago that I'm the youngest-looking almost-70-year-old she knows.  I jokingly said it was from all the antioxidants I take.  Then I read in Prevention magazine about 6 weeks ago that GLA helps your skin.  Plumps it up -- or something (brain fog).  So how's that for a nice added extra!

Someone on a thread about plugs for the eyes mentioned her eye dr. told her to take 3 flax seed oil capsules daily; I don't know what size/strength.  Flax seed oil is a good source of Omega 3's.  I put 3 T. of flax seed meal on my hot cereal every morning; added extra here - helps keep me regular.

A rheumy had a workshop at a SjS conference and somebody asked about the best diet for Sjoggies.  He said to eat fruit and vegetables, whole grains, very little red meat (too many Omega 6's) and fish like salmon or tuna (high in Omega 3's)  at least twice a week.  Also said to stay away from sugar as much as possible because it has an inflammatory effect -- which we don't need.  This sounds to me very much like a diet the American Heart Association recommends, so we may be helping our hearts at the same time!

[gphx]

Thanks for explaining the huge jar of flax seeds on my desk I completely forgot why I was eating. =)

[Prairie Gal]

Gphx, to get the full benefit from flax seeds, they recommend you grind/blend them into meal because otherwise those little seeds just slide right on down and you get little benefit from the oil in them.  Might as well get the most bang for your buck!

I have an old coffee grinder I use to grind them, then store the resulting meal in a jar in the fridge because the oil can spoil at room temperature after the seeds are ground.  I put 3 big spoons full of it on my cereal every morning; it has a slightly nutty taste.   If you don't eat cereal, you could add it to soup  or yogurt.  Some people add it when they bake muffins, etc., but I don't bake!