Eating colourful, specifically yellow, fruit and vegetables could help boost both your brain and eyesight, according to a new study.
You may have heard the old wives' tale that including carrots in your diet can help improve your vision in the dark. But there are also other foods you should include if you want to keep your eyes working as well as they possibly can, new research suggests. Fruits and vegetables such as melon, peppers, pumpkin and corn could help your eyes.
These foods include compounds lutein and zeaxanthin which, despite being yellow in colour, is found in leafy greens such as kale and spinach, with the green chlorophyl masking the yellow colour, reports WalesOnline.
According to research carried out by the University of Georgia, the compounds could help improve the vision as the scientists found lutein and zeaxanthin builds up in the retina, which can in turn help work to improve eye health and functional vision.
Doctoral candidate from the university's College of Public Health, Jack Harth, 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."
The research focused on improving the eyesight of athletes, with how well a person can see their target a critical asset for top competitors in almost all sports. For example, if a player struggles to see the ball clearly it can hugely impact their ability to play football.
Published in the journal Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, the study authors suggest that eating more foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin can help 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."
The yellow compounds of lutein and zeaxanthin collect as yellow pigments in the retina when eaten, which then acts as a filter to help prevent blue light from entering the eye.
Professor of psychology in the Behaviour and Brain Sciences Program at UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and corresponding author, Billy Hammond, 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, due to variations in the way the body absorbs lutein and zeaxanthin, it could take a while before any improvements are noticed.
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."
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