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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Colorful fresh foods improve athletes' vision    
    Visual range is a critical asset for top athletes in almost any sport   
      
      
     Date:   
         June 8, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Georgia   
     Summary:   
         Nutrition is an important part of any top athlete's training   
         program. And now, a new study proposes that supplementing the diet   
         of athletes with colorful fruits and vegetables could improve their   
         visual range. The paper examines how a group of plant compounds   
         that build up in the retina, known as macular pigments, work to   
         improve eye health and functional vision.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Nutrition is an important part of any top athlete's training program. And   
   now, a new study by researchers from the University of Georgia proposes   
   that supplementing the diet of athletes with colorful fruits and   
   vegetables could improve their visual range.   
      
   The paper, which was published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews,   
   examines how a group of plant compounds that build up in the retina, known   
   as macular pigments, work to improve eye health and functional vision.   
      
   Previous studies done by UGA researchers Billy R. Hammond and Lisa Renzi-   
   Hammond have shown that eating foods like dark leafy greens or yellow   
   and orange vegetables, which contain high levels of the plant compounds   
   lutein and zeaxanthin, improves eye and brain health.   
      
   "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," said lead author Jack Harth, a doctoral   
   candidate in UGA's College of Public Health.   
      
   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.   
      
   The reason why objects get harder to see and appear fuzzier the farther   
   they are from our eyes is thanks in part to the effects of blue light.   
      
   "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," said Harth.   
      
   Many athletes already take measures to reduce the impact of blue light   
   through eye black or blue blocker sunglasses, but eating more foods rich   
   in lutein and zeaxanthin can improve the eye's natural ability to handle   
   blue light exposure, said Harth.   
      
   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.   
      
   Previous work had been done testing the visual range ability of pilots in   
   the 1980s, and Hammond and Renzi-Hammond have done more recent studies   
   on how macular pigment density, or how much yellow pigment is built   
   up in the retina, is linked to a number of measures of eye health and   
   functional vision tests.   
      
   "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, and supplementing these compounds facilitates executive functions   
   like problem- solving and memory. All of these tasks are particularly   
   important for athletes," said corresponding author Billy R. Hammond,   
   a professor of psychology in the Behavior and Brain Sciences Program at   
   UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.   
      
   This paper, Harth said, brings the research on these links between   
   macular pigment and functional vision up to date and asks what the   
   evidence suggests about optimizing athletic performance.   
      
   "We're at a point where we can say we've seen visual range differences   
   in pilots that match the differences found in modeling, and now, we've   
   also seen it in laboratory tests, and a future goal would be to actually   
   bring people outside and to measure their ability to see contrast over   
   distance through real blue haze and in outdoor environments," said Harth.   
      
   But before you start chowing down on kale in the hopes of improving your   
   game, he cautions that everybody is different. That could mean 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.   
      
   Still, the evidence of the overall health benefits of consuming more   
   lutein and zeaxanthin are reason enough to add more color to your diet,   
   say the authors.   
      
   "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," said Harth.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Eye_Care # Sports_Medicine # Diseases_and_Conditions   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Perception # Intelligence # Educational_Psychology   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Animal_Learning_and_Intelligence # Food #   
                   Frogs_and_Reptiles   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Visual_perception o Nutrition o Detox_diet o   
             Bitemporal_hemianopsia o General_fitness_training o   
             Eye_examination o Physical_exercise o Psychotherapy   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Georgia. Original   
   written by Lauren Baggett. Note: Content may be edited for style and   
   length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jacob B. Harth, Lisa M. Renzi-Hammond, Billy R. Hammond. A Dietary   
         Strategy for Optimizing the Visual Range of Athletes. Exercise   
         and Sport Sciences Reviews, 2023; Publish Ahead of Print DOI:   
         10.1249/ JES.0000000000000318   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230608120930.htm   
      
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