Eating colourful fruit and veg boosts your brain and eyesight, a new study claims. It has long been held that carrots improve your vision in the dark but the latest research reveals that melon, peppers, pumpkin and corn all help as well.
The food contains the compounds lutein and zeaxanthin. Although yellow in colour, lutein is also found in leafy greens such as kale and spinach where the green chlorophyl masks the yellow colour.
The University of Georgia carried out research on how the compounds could improve the vision of athletes. They found that lutein and zeaxanthin built up in the retina and work to improve eye health and functional vision.
Jack Harth, a doctoral candidate in UGA’s College of Public Health said: "A lot of the research into macular lutein and zeaxanthin has focused on health benefits, but from a functional perspective, higher concentrations of these plant pigments improve many aspects of visual and cognitive ability.
"In this paper, we discuss their ability to improve vision in the far distance or visual range."
Visual range, or how well a person can see a target clearly over distance, is a critical asset for top athletes in almost any sport.
In many ball sports players struggle to see the ball against the sky thanks to blue light which makes it fuzzy.
The authors of the study published in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews say eating more foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin can improve the eye’s natural ability to handle blue light exposure.
Mr Harth added: "In baseball, from a center fielder's perspective, if that ball's coming up in the air, it will be seen against a background of bright blue sky, or against a gray background if it's a cloudy day.
"Either way, the target is obscured by atmospheric interference coming into that path of the light."
When a person absorbs lutein and zeaxanthin, the compounds collect as yellow pigments in the retina and act as a filter to prevent blue light from entering the eye.
Corresponding author Billy Hammond, a professor of psychology in the Behaviour and Brain Sciences Program at UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences said: “In a long series of studies, we have shown that increasing amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin in the retina and brain decrease glare disability and discomfort and improve chromatic contrast and visual-motor reaction time.
"Supplementing these compounds facilitates executive functions like problem-solving and memory. All of these tasks are particularly important for athletes."
However there is one catch. The way our bodies absorb and use lutein and zeaxanthin varies, and it could take a while before you notice any improvements, if at all.
Mr Harth added: “We have data from modeling and empirical studies showing that higher macular pigment in your retina will improve your ability to see over distance.
"The application for athletes is clear."
