We are all aware that nutrition is the basis for our health and performance. What we may not be aware of is that the brain and visual system, while only comprising about 2 percent of your body weight, use up about 25 percent of your nutritional intake. This is why it is so important to pay attention to our nutrition in our daily activities as well as in our sports performance.
Optimal sports performance coincides with optimal nutritional support for the visual system. And while most coaches, trainers and athletes recognize the importance of nutrition in sports performance, the effect of nutrition on the eyes—and on visual skills that are important for sports performance—are often overlooked.
Recent research has demonstrated that certain nutrients can help improve visual performance factors. These recommendations suggest that the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin and astaxanthin are beneficial nutritional supplements and can play a role maintaining or enhancing visual abilities that are important for sports performance, such as Dynamic Visual Acuity, Eye Tracking, Eye Focusing, Peripheral Awareness, Depth Perception, and Eye-Hand or Eye-Body Coordination.
(Excerpts from an article by: Jeffrey Anshel, OD, FAAO)