Dry Eye Causes and Treatment with Dr. Travis Zigler

04/27/18 • 34 min

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The Functional Medicine Radio Show With Dr. Carri

In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest Dr. Travis Zigler explains dry eye causes and treatment.

Dr. Travis Zigler is an optometrist. Travis and his wife Jenna have been actively involved with Volunteers for Optometric Services to Humanity, which is a group that travels worldwide to give eye examinations to people who cannot afford nor obtain such care. They have made trips to Ecuador, Peru, and Jamaica twice, and have plans to participate in future missions.

Main Questions Asked about Dry Eye Causes & Treatment:

What is dry eye disease?
What are the most common causes of dry eye?
What diet changes can help our eye health?
How quickly can people expect to see changes in their eye health after transforming to a plant based diet?
Does blue light hurt our eyes?
Do we get blue light from television screens?
Can people wear blue light blockers on top of prescription glasses?
Do prescription glasses made with blue light blocker coating impact melatonin production throughout the day?
What do you think of the f.lux program that people can use on their tablets, computers and phones?
Is there an underlying hormonal cause for dry eyes?
Can essential fatty acids be used to moisturize dry eyes?

Key Points made by Dr. Zigler about Dry Eye Causes & Treatment:

Dry eye is considered a syndrome clinically, however, it is a symptom of an underlying inflammation of the body.
Dry eye causes and treatment focuses on reducing the underlying causes of inflammation in the three parts of the eye – cornea, conjunctiva, and eyelids.
Pharmaceutical treatments for dry eye only reduce inflammation of the eye without getting to the root cause of the underlying disease.
It is important to switch to organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables and focus on green leafy vegetables.
All meals are based around spinach and kale because they have a very high amount of lutein that helps with eye health by reducing inflammation.
It is recommended to focus on vegetables as the main dish and meat as condiments.
Add fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes to make a wholesome meal.
Avoiding milk is important, as it is inflammatory.
Other ingredients to avoid are sugar, canned foods, anything in a box and processed foods, which are highly inflammatory.
A basic recipe for a smoothie for two – one banana, three handfuls of spinach, a little bit of almond milk and water. You could add avocado, chia seeds, flax seeds and then some frozen fruits, like berries.
It takes about a week to see changes in eye health after transforming to a plant based diet, because switching from the modern diet will have a period of withdrawal symptoms, similar to quitting smoking or alcohol.
With the “Green Smoothie Challenge” after the initial withdrawal symptoms of detoxing in a week or two, one will start to see results and feel incredible in six months.
Day 1-7 is the “unbearable stage” with the challenge, where you will have more gas, poop more and feel awful, and you might hate the smoothies.
Day 7-14 of the challenge is called the “uncomfortable stage”, where you will not feel great but you will start to feel better.
Day 14-21 is the “unstoppable phase”, where you actually start to crave your green smoothie and feel worse if you stop because your body will start to miss the nutrients.
One could get addicted to artificial sweeteners as well as stevia in protein powders and end up with headaches and other problems.
It is important to hydrate well first thing in the morning with 16-32 ounces of water. This is called the “Hyper-hydration stage”, which boosts your metabolism by about 30% and puts the body in a feel-good state.
Drinking about 16 ounces of water before every meal helps jumpstart your digestive system by lubrication.
Using computers and smart devices we expose ourselves to blue light even at night, which keeps us awake longer and reduces deep sleep at night.
Shutting off electronics and wearing blue light blocking glasses two hours before bedtime will increase melatonin production to help you go to sleep faster and deeper into restorative REM sleep.
Blue light is emitted with any device that has a flat panel, including televisions.
People can install blue light filters on smart devices starting at 7 or 8pm so that your brain and body starts making enough melatonin as part of your sleep-wake cycle.
Prescription glasses can be made with 20-30% blue-light blockers and are s...

In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest Dr. Travis Zigler explains dry eye causes and treatment.

Main Questions Asked about Dry Eye Causes & Treatment:

What is dry eye disease?
What are the most common causes of dry eye?
What diet changes can help our eye health?
How quickly can people expect to see changes in their eye health after transforming to a plant based diet?
Does blue light hurt our eyes?
Do we get blue light from television screens?
Can people wear blue light blockers on top of prescription glasses?
Do prescription glasses made with blue light blocker coating impact melatonin production throughout the day?
What do you think of the f.lux program that people can use on their tablets, computers and phones?
Is there an underlying hormonal cause for dry eyes?
Can essential fatty acids be used to moisturize dry eyes?

Key Points made by Dr. Zigler about Dry Eye Causes & Treatment:

Dry eye is considered a syndrome clinically, however, it is a symptom of an underlying inflammation of the body.
Dry eye causes and treatment focuses on reducing the underlying causes of inflammation in the three parts of the eye – cornea, conjunctiva, and eyelids.
Pharmaceutical treatments for dry eye only reduce inflammation of the eye without getting to the root cause of the underlying disease.
It is important to switch to organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables and focus on green leafy vegetables.
All meals are based around spinach and kale because they have a very high amount of lutein that helps with eye health by reducing inflammation.
It is recommended to focus on vegetables as the main dish and meat as condiments.
Add fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes to make a wholesome meal.
Avoiding milk is important, as it is inflammatory.
Other ingredients to avoid are sugar, canned foods, anything in a box and processed foods, which are highly inflammatory.
A basic recipe for a smoothie for two – one banana, three handfuls of spinach, a little bit of almond milk and water. You could add avocado, chia seeds, flax seeds and then some frozen fruits, like berries.
It takes about a week to see changes in eye health after transforming to a plant based diet, because switching from the modern diet will have a period of withdrawal symptoms, similar to quitting smoking or alcohol.
With the “Green Smoothie Challenge” after the initial withdrawal symptoms of detoxing in a week or two, one will start to see results and feel incredible in six months.
Day 1-7 is the “unbearable stage” with the challenge, where you will have more gas, poop more and feel awful, and you might hate the smoothies.
Day 7-14 of the challenge is called the “uncomfortable stage”, where you will not feel great but you will start to feel better.
Day 14-21 is the “unstoppable phase”, where you actually start to crave your green smoothie and feel worse if you stop because your body will start to miss the nutrients.
One could get addicted to artificial sweeteners as well as stevia in protein powders and end up with headaches and other problems.
It is important to hydrate well first thing in the morning with 16-32 ounces of water. This is called the “Hyper-hydration stage”, which boosts your metabolism by about 30% and puts the body in a feel-good state.
Drinking about 16 ounces of water before every meal helps jumpstart your digestive system by lubrication.
Using computers and smart devices we expose ourselves to blue light even at night, which keeps us awake longer and reduces deep sleep at night.
Shutting off electronics and wearing blue light blocking glasses two hours before bedtime will increase melatonin production to help you go to sleep faster and deeper into restorative REM sleep.
Blue light is emitted with any device that has a flat panel, including televisions.
People can install blue light filters on smart devices starting at 7 or 8pm so that your brain and body starts making enough melatonin as part of your sleep-wake cycle.
Prescription glasses can be made with 20-30% blue-light blockers and are s...

Previous Episode

Dynamic Running Therapy with William Pullen

In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest William Pullen explains dynamic running therapy.

William Pullen is a psychotherapist registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. He practices Integrative therapy and specializes in the treatment of depression, anxiety, problems of self-esteem and confidence, and substance abuse.

Main Questions Asked about Dynamic Running Therapy:

How did you get into Dynamic Running Therapy?
Is there research done comparing exercise to drug therapies?
Can Dynamic Running Therapy be done with running or can it be applied to other forms of exercise?
What is mindfulness?
What “questions” are used in Dynamic Therapy?

Key Points made by William about Dynamic Running Therapy:

Dynamic Running Therapy is a fusion of elements of mindfulness, talk therapy, and running.
It’s important to get moving and develop a good practice.
Running gives a sense of competency and power.
Movement must be seen as a medicinal enterprise, particularly for those with certain mental health conditions.
There is more anxiety and depression among those who are not active.
Mindfulness is a great way to address conditions like stress, high blood pressure, hypertension and anxiety.
For thousands of years, humans have hunted, talked and moved together in small tribes for survival, mythology and relationships.
Our DNA is primed for adventure but we have become very sedentary now.
Dynamic Running Therapy is typically done while walking or running so they can focus on the questions for their condition and stay safe, compared to more dangerous activities like mountain climbing.
Mindfulness is focusing the mind on self and typically on breath or you could focus on footsteps or counting trees while walking.
To practice mindfulness, focus on your breath and count to ten and then start over.
Mindfulness is a way of bringing yourself continually back into the living moment and away from all of your fears and concerns about the past and the future.
The practice allows one to become present in the moment and away from the habit of a preoccupied or lazy mind and get out of the cycle of going back to the sore points of life.
Mindfulness is about training the brain and making a choice to become somebody who can be in the moment and be present to what is around them.
It can be argued that being overstimulated is a kind of trauma.
Overstimulation keeps us in a state of constant arousal that is not productive.
Our goal is to be in a fluid state where we can relax when we want to and bring our attention when it is needed by being in control of how we exist in the world.
By constantly connecting to social media and other stimuli, our brain gets a kick with small incremental quick rewards.
Since social media has quick rewards, other rewards that come from longer term activities like cooking, get replaced by quick rewards to make the brain lazy.
The book gives questions for each run, which you can use if you want to while running or walking.
The idea is that you learn to acknowledge what you really want.
If you’re scared of what this question might bring up, acknowledge that and go when you’re ready to go. If you’re excited by it, acknowledge that, and take yourself on a journey of discovery as each question throws up new ideas and new memories and different ways of relating to who you are and the choices that you’ve made.
Dynamic Therapy reminds you of the need to relate to yourself in a way that’s gentle and compassionate instead of that judgmental inner dialogue that doesn’t serve us.
When we are not connected to our community then questions around personal status and purpose become even more important, which is known as status anxiety.
To practice Dynamic Therapy, the practitioner familiarizes the reader with their particular anxiety by specific questions to understand the core issue rather than simply the fear and anxiety.
Next step is to ask questions about the lifestyle choices, their work, relationships, substance abuse, community etc.
The source of a lot of anxieties is the kind of relationship one has with oneself which can be destabilizing if there are layers of shame and fear.
The core of the work is centered around one question: Must I fix or avoid every unpleasant feeling that I have or might I be...

Next Episode

Alzheimer’s Prevention and Treatment with Dr. Dale Bredesen

In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest Dr. Dale Bredesen talks about Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment.

Dr. Dale Bredesen received his undergraduate degree from Caltech and his medical degree from Duke. He served as Resident and Chief Resident in Neurology at UCSF, then was postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Prof. Stanley Prusiner. Dr. Bredesen was the Founding President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and is the Director of the Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA.

His group has developed a new approach to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and this approach has led to the discovery of subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease, followed by the first description of reversal of symptoms in patients with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease, with the ReCODE (Reversal of Cognitive Decline) protocol. His book, The End of Alzheimer’s, is a New York Times Bestseller.

Main Questions Asked about Alzheimer’s Prevention & Treatment:

What can be done for people that have memory impairment, cognitive decline, dementia, or early Alzheimer’s?
Can you talk about infections and how they can have such a big impact on our brain health?
How do hormones, toxins, and inflammation contribute to brain decline?
When should we start onto treatment? How early should a person start working towards preventing cognitive decline?
What is a cognoscopy?
Can you talk about one or two patients that you’ve worked with and where they were and how they’re doing now?
How fast should a patient start to feel better on your program?
What are the next steps to take for those who need help?
How do we find a doctor or practitioner that’s been trained under you?

Key Points made by Dr. Bredesen about Alzheimer’s Prevention & Treatment:

Dementia is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, and the number one cause of death in the United Kingdom.
The reality is we can now do something about Alzheimer’s prevention. In fact, if we all do the right things, we can actually reduce the global burden of dementia dramatically.
We have spent the last 30 years in the laboratory looking at the underlying mechanisms that drive the disease.
When you go in to a physician and you have cognitive decline, the physician does not evaluate why you have it. They might do your serum sodium and serum potassium and maybe some thyroid tests, but they don’t look at the many different factors that actually contribute to it.
There are dozens and dozens of different contributors to Alzheimer’s, including: chronic inflammation, Lyme disease, infections including oral bacteria, leaky gut, too many trans fats, too much sugar, low estradiol, low testosterone, low thyroid hormones.
We evaluate you to determine what are the contributors to your cognitive decline or your risk for cognitive decline, and then we can address all those things appropriately.
Alzheimer’s disease fundamentally is a protective response to these different agents, like chronic infections (bacteria, spirochetes, viruses, molds, fungus), inflammation, heavy metals, and toxins. The downside to this is you are fundamentally downsizing your brain, too.
What’s now been shown in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s is some will have Lyme disease, some will have specific viruses, such as herpes; some will have oral bacterial such as gingivalis; some will have various fungi, such as Candida. There are all sorts of different pathogens that, in fact, can get into your brain and your body then makes beta amyloid plaque to fight the infection.
Alzheimer’s is like a roof with 36+ holes in it. Of course for each person, the holes are a different size. If you are extremely low on your vitamin D, that hole in your roof is large. If you’re very good with your vitamin D, and I don’t just mean within normal limits, I mean optimal, then that hole is closed, and so forth and so on down each of the different 36. If you’ve got Lyme disease, then that hole is opened and you’ve got to fix that one.
You want to address as many of these holes as you can. That’s when you begin to see these dramatic improvements in people.
Everybody should do either Alzheimer’s prevention or early reversal of cognitive decline.
Phase One = you’re asymptomatic. That’s the time to jump on things. You want to do prevention. This is where Alzheimer’s prevention has the best outcomes.
Phase Two = SCI, or Subjective Cognitive Impairment. That’s when you know something’s wrong but your cognitive tests are still normal....