The impact of nutrition on visual cognitive performance in the nutrition, vision, and cognition in sport study

Detailed analysis of dietary intake in combination with daily NeuroTracker baselines reveals key nutrient levels for optimal perceptual-cognitive performance.

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Athletes
Wellness

June 2023

in

Frontiers in Nutrition

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Aim

To examine the influence of nutritional intake on visual perceptual-cognitive performance, measured by NeuroTracker, in young healthy adults.

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Method

98 healthy men (38) and women (60) aged 18–33 years maintained their usual dietary intake while completing NeuroTracker 15 sessions of NeuroTracker over a 15-day period. Food logs and extensive lifestyle measures including body composition, cardiovascular health, sleep and exercise patterns, and general readiness to perform were collected for analysis.

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Result

Males consumed significantly more calories, macronutrients, cholesterol, choline, and zinc and performed significantly better on NeuroTracker than the females. Participants who consumed more than 40% of kcals from carbohydrates, less than 24% of kcals from protein, more than 2,000 μg/day lutein/zeaxanthin or more than 1.8 mg/ day of vitamin B2 performed significantly better on NeuroTracker than those who consumed less than those amounts. The researchers concluded that perceptual-cognitive performance is positively influenced by higher carbohydrate, lutein/ zeaxanthin, and vitamin B2 dietary intake, while high protein consumption had negative impacts.

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