Lutein and Zeaxanthin Vision Benefits

There are some incredibly talented vision-impaired athletes. Just look at the Paralympics – where they feature multiple competition categories for vision-impaired athletes just to accommodate all of their insane athletic prowess around the world. But for the rest of us, we rely pretty heavily on vision to compete in sports.

We’re here to discuss how lutein and zeaxanthin, two eye-nourishing nutrients, can benefit and improve your vision. But first, why does vision matter in athletics?

Why should you care about your vision?

Whether it’s tracking a 100mph fastball or teeing off for a hole-in-one, athletics demand constant visual input and processing. In one moment, we may go from broad scanning of the field to laser-like focus on the ball and back to analyzing the defense. 

Have you ever thought about the demand that places on your eyes? 

If not, consider yourself lucky. But what if one day you stopped being able to tell the difference between your teammates and the opposition?

According to research, the human focusing ability only spans around 3 degrees. We have to lock both eyes on an object in order to discern the details. Therefore, our peripheral vision plays a massive part in inputting visual stimuli outside of this range. We need both – awareness of what’s happening around us and what demands our immediate attention – in order to excel at sport (and life).

Even more, our oculomotor skills come into play during a game or practice. Rapid scanning of the playing field allows us to sight our target before our brain prepares an attack. Additionally, the visual field is crucial to maintaining balance. Don’t believe me? Just try standing on one leg with your eyes closed.

Finally, the accuracy of our vision depends heavily on the quality of our eyesight. Discrimination between the ball flying by you and a person coming to tackle you makes a world of a difference in competitive sport. Without depth perception, contrast, and lighting perception, we’d have absolutely no idea what was going on. 

Miraculously, in a matter of seconds, your eyes absorb all of this information so your brain can interpret it. The quality of your vision determines the quality of input. Poor quality leaves you three steps behind. 

What are Lutein and Zeaxanthin?

Both lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoid vitamins, pigmentations that naturally occur in plants. They’re also present in the human eye, acting as light filters to protect the eyes from damage. 

Research out of Nutrition and Metabolism concluded that supplementing lutein and zeaxanthin increased the density of macular pigment in the eyes. Another study out of Investigative Ophthalmology found that higher levels of macular pigmentation lowers likeliness of developing macular degeneration. When it comes to sports, researchers showed improvement in visual acuity following supplementation of zeaxanthin.

The Best Vision Supplement

With all that said and done, it’s time to reveal our pick for best vision supplement. After all, you deserve the best tools to maximize your vision, right? 

The best vision supplement on the market right now is Performance Lab – Vision. 

This company regularly practices third-party testing, meaning none of its products hit the market without being analyzed for quality by experts in a lab. All of their products are vegan, non-GMO, caffeine free, allergen free, additive free…. I could go on. Basically free of anything that could be bad for you. But let’s investigate further into how they curate their specific ingredients for Vision.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin

As the most important ingredients, Performance Lab Vision includes 10mg of lutein and 2mg of zeaxanthin. They use the most bioavailable versions of these two vitamins to ensure transfer from the digestive system directly to the eyes – Performance Lab takes their ingredients from non-GMO marigold flowers. Therefore, these ingredients improve visual acuity, glare recovery, and contrast sensitivity for athletes and the general population.

European Black Currant

Of course, like all elite performers, Performance Lab isn’t satisfied with the bare minimum. They also include european black currant extract to raise the benefits of their Vision supplement. With 25mg of black currant extract, standardized for a minimum of anthocyanins (the active ingredient), this supplement helps sharpen vision in the retina. Science has shown that anthocyanins act as antioxidants to accelerate reaction time and retina-to-brain signaling. These antioxidants can also enhance night vision and improve adjustment to dark lighting.

Saffron

While most of us think of saffron as a spice for our next meal, Performance Lab includes it as an additional healthy eye pigment. Saffron contains yellow plant pigments and antioxidants to nourish the macula, a part of your eye that filters light. These antioxidants are suggested to improve motion detection (pretty important in sports) and glare reduction.

Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is an extract from algae that can increase blood flow to your eyes, specifically the retina. The retina is where your eye filters input, takes that information, and transmit it into neural signals that make sense in your brain. So, yeah, it’s pretty important to have blood flow consistently bringing nutrients to that area.

Where can I get Performance Lab Vision?

Head over to their website and grab the supplement. For a reasonable $40, you’re investing in not only enhanced performance, but long-term vision health into old age. And yes, age will strike eventually. Stave off the downsides of getting older by visiting their website and getting these nutrients on the regular.

Conclusion

If you’re a sighted individual, I can guarantee you rely pretty heavily on your vision. While our other senses are still providing input, our eyes are constantly scanning, adapting, and adjusting to the environment. For most sports, being able to react to a moving object or utilize light to discern depth perception makes all of the difference. It doesn’t matter how much you practice if you can’t see what’s going on during the game. 

Lutein and zeaxanthin are scientifically-proven supplements to improve vision. They fortify your macula for long-term vision health, which aids performance. Not only that, but you want your eyesight to serve you all the way in to old age. Start now while you can, and nourish your vision like you would the rest of your body. You won’t regret it.