My eyes! My eyes!
I have intermittently suffered from dry eyes for years. About five years ago I stopped wearing contact lenses on a regular basis because they made my condition worse. Last week, thanks to my newly found specialty-eye-gadget hoarding optometrist, I learned that the Meibomian glands (these are oil glands that facilitate the production of viscous tears) on my lower eyelids are basically gone ๐. See this photo and the white strips that look like they are made up of tiny caviar? Those are the glands.
In the middle of the lid above (not mine) you can see barren eyelid; no glands / no bueno. The entirety of both my bottom lids look like the middle section below. This is bad news because these glands do not regenerate. I do have some remaining glands on the top eyelids ๐๐ฝ but it is not clear (no pun intended) what happens next.
In the meantime my doctor suggested - force sold me - a $54 bottle of vitamins; conveniently packaged with a 10% off coupon for a recurring subscription. My Spidey-Sense activated; wtf bullshit did I just fall for and how much commission is she getting from the vitamin people to hawk these to me?!
Still, I politely paid Ellen at the front desk and proceeded home.
The vitamins are large and I must take 3 of them each day ๐๐ฝ.
Firmly down the Omega-3 rabbit hole I feel encouraged to take stock of my current vitamin regimen. Donโt ask me why I take this stuff. I donโt know for sure if any of it makes sense? ๐คท๐ฝโโ๏ธ
Vitamins are like mattresses. They all look more or less the same but youโll be hard pressed to find two mattresses that are formulated exactly alike. Cymbiotika leans heavily on liposomal delivery; encasing the active ingredients in a fat molecule to facilitate better / more immediate absorption.
Back to my new Omega-3โs. They have a seemingly unique market formulation inclusive of EPA to DHA in a 3:1 ratio. Specifically, 1580mg of EPA and 560mg of DHA; derived from one or more of the following: sardine, mackerel, herring and anchovy. I was unable to corroborate the efficacy of the 3:1 ratio from any source other than the vitamin manufacturer. ๐จ
And donโt get me started on Omega-3โs from Flaxseed oil - these are primarily comprised of the ALA fatty acid, which is both difficult for the body to absorb and less relevant for eye health in comparison to EPA and DHA.
There is a completely separate rabbit hole about the evils of seed oils, which I am not qualified to speak on (however I have eliminated them from my diet). I use refined Avocado Oil (520ยฐF smoke point) for flash-frying and Olive Oil or EVOO for everything else.
Back to my new vitamins (again); it is a rTG or re-esterified triglyceride oil, which means the ethanol molecules that remain after the distillation / synthesis process are subsequently removed (in other words this vitamin is like a delicious twice fried fry). However, this also means the vitamin is ultra processed, which could lead to other potential problems such as contamination and oxidation.
Oy vey! So much more to learn. Itโs only been one week; my Omega 3โs will last only 3 more weeks and the vitamin people already called to up-sell me on another 90-day supply. There goes my Spidey-sense again! I fobbed them off and said I would see how the next 3 weeks go before deciding. The person on the phone didnโt hesitate to let me know that it takes a minimum of 90 days to see results so delaying is futile.
I hung up and decided to find a new solution.
So far my research is pointing to an all natural non-pill supplement, which is what I am going to try next. Unfortunately for dry eye disease one canโt obtain enough Omega-3 action simply by eating fish (which I also do).
What vitamins do you take. Do they work? How do you know? Does anyone know about the ins and outs of vitamin kick-backs to physicians?
If vitamins are your bag let me know and Iโll post an update on my Omega 3 experience later this year.
Basic Economics
Post 2 in a series covering Thomas Sowellโs Basic Economics
Less is demanded at a higher price.
As mentioned in Issue # 4, Iโm going to summarize key economic topics covered in Basic Economics throughout the year. In case you missed it: more than half the states in the U.S. are set to lift their minimum wages in 2023.
Minimum wage laws are typically discussed moralistically; highlighting the benefits to workers who deserve receipt of a fair wage, or at least fairer, in exchange for their work product. Basic economics dictates that when a price is artificially raised it results in more supply and less demand, creating a surplus.
Furthermore not every workerโs productivity is worth the amount of a higher (artificially established) wage and therefore minimum wage laws result in many workers losing their jobs (due to a surplus of productive labor at the new wage). Another implication is new entrants to the labor force (e.g. young people looking for a first job) find it more difficult to find a job (due to the aforementioned surplus).
Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero - Thomas Sowell
Sowell notes that only 15% of minimum-wage workers are supporting themselves and a dependent - yet the conjured image portrayed by the media is often of a head-of-household minimum wage worker who must be given a โliving wageโ in order to support their family. In actuality, setting artificially high wages perpetuates job insecurity for the poorest and least skilled people. Minimum wage workers are often young and work experience can be more valuable to them (in the long run) than the immediate pay itself.
I encourage you to DYOR and come to your own conclusions. My key takeaway about the minimum wage is that itโs an uneconomical construct that perpetuates a misallocation of scarce resources and therefore negatively affects the total wealth available to society.
Song of the week - Sunset by Compuphonic & Marques Toliver
This weekโs song is VIBEZ!!!; endorsed by the body movement of my 3-year old. (fyi - itโs not Baby Shark, which would be the oddsmakerโs bet). Watching her is the cutest thing; Blue Marlin here we come!
This week I am including both the Spotify and Youtube links below; which do you prefer going forward?
Vinay, you should call the Vitamin people back and let them know there is still one last sponsorship opportunity in 2023 for Smoke Signals. While these opportunities are normally quite expensive, you could do a pilot trial with them for 90days where you try their product and make mention of it in your substack articles and future podcast.