Maintaining your brain and eye health is crucial to your quality of life. Even though we think of them independently, the brain and eyes share sophisticated connections—both physiologically and in their care. 

Recent studies reveal an elaborate interplay between these organs, revealing that a holistic approach to treating their health may also share unified characteristics.

In this article, we discuss these brain-eye connections and how supplements for the eyes and brain, such as lutein, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin, appear to provide profound health benefits for both.

The Connection Between Brain and Eye Health

The brain and eyes are intricately linked in multiple ways. Structurally, the retina is actually an extension of brain tissue, and both are part of the central nervous system. 

The optic nerve connects to the brain, where everything you see gets processed by the brain’s visual cortex, traversing complex neural pathways for analysis and interpretation. Your brain and eyes also share a similar vascular system, which is why conditions like diabetes tend to affect both organs.

When people are younger, the brain helps them adapt to vision changes through neuroplasticity. But, as we age, the interconnectedness of the brain and eyes also shares detrimental health impacts. 

For example, we find a connection between age-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease affecting brain function and ocular performance. People with these conditions often experience changes to their vision caused by oxidative stress and inflammation affecting both organs.

Supplements from Aronia berries, for instance, show promise in improving “brain fitness”. These Aronia berries, cultivated in the Baltic region of Europe, contain active compounds called cyanidin glycosides, which show signs of making significant improvements in psychomotor speed and focus in test subjects.

Brainberry®, an Aronia berry extract, is believed to improve eye-hand coordination by helping to protect the brain from oxidative stress. This shows how improved brain function simultaneously enhances how one’s eyes contribute to better motor response.

Likewise, we find a nutrient-rich diet and health supplements can help reduce and delay the impact of degenerative conditions, helping both the brain and eyes. Evidence suggests nutrients like carotenoids can have several profound benefits.

What Is Lutein? 

Lutein is a type of carotenoid found in green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, as well as egg yolks, corn, orange peppers, kiwi fruit, grapes, zucchini, and squash.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two major carotenoids found in the macula and retina of the human eye. They filter light and protect eye tissues from sun damage and blue light.

Potential Benefits of Lutein for Brain and Eye Health

Lutein’s properties have been found to potentially provide numerous health benefits, including:

The Role of Astaxanthin in Brain and Eye Health

Like lutein, astaxanthin is a carotenoid. It is found in marine organisms like:

  • Salmon
  • Trout 
  • Shrimp
  • Lobster
  • Crab
  • Microalgae
  • Yeast

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that can cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier while protecting lipids and the aqueous parts of cells. It is believed that astaxanthin helps protect against oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain, improving cognitive function and slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

How Lutein, Astaxanthin, and Zeaxanthin Work Together to Support Brain and Eye Health

Lutein, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin appear to each provide effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, but when combined, they are also believed to provide a synergy of benefits that can be measured by studying their impact on hand-eye coordination. 

Because astaxanthin can cross both the blood-retinal and blood-brain barriers, it is believed to protect eye and brain tissues. Combined with lutein and zeaxanthin, the results appear to include filtering blue light, reducing inflammation by inhibiting cytokine cascades, providing neuroprotection that supports cognitive function, and promoting vascular health to improve blood flow in the brain and eyes.

In an important eight-week, double-blind study called the Effects of Astaxanthin, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin on Eye–Hand Coordination and Smooth-Pursuit Eye Movement after Visual Display Terminal Operation in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Intergroup Trial, researchers aimed to determine whether these carotenoids could prevent a decline in eye-hand coordination, which relies on rapid eye movements, and smooth-pursuit eye movement, which helps track moving targets. This was all observed in healthy users of visual display terminals (VDTs). 

VDTs are used with computers, smartphones, tablets, and video game consoles and are known to cause a decline in vision due to transient myopia and some changes in eye movement connected with the oculomotor nerve, which may also be temporary, but more long-term research about permanent effects is needed. 

Because this test made it possible to observe cognitive function and the impact of harmful blue light from VDTs, providing a means to study the combined effect of all three carotenoids.

In the active group that took the supplement, the study showed a significant improvement in macular pigment optical density (MPOD) after eight weeks. The supplement significantly improved visual motion reaction time at two weeks and remained at the improved level through the remaining test period.

All three carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that fight oxidative stress, which contributes to several age-related degenerative diseases. Neutralizing free radicals is believed to protect the brain and eye cells from damage, which could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

Together, they show great promise in supporting cognitive function and eye health that can reduce vision loss and prevent or reduce the effects of age-related cognitive decline.

Choosing the Right Supplement for Your Brain and Eye Health

There is compelling evidence that utilizing supplements with carotenoids like lutein, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin can have a profound, positive impact on your brain and eye health. And while more research is needed, there are important factors to consider when choosing a supplement that maximizes the benefits of these carotenoids. The best supplement should have:

  • A carefully designed and tested formula with proper amounts of each ingredient
  • The highest quality ingredients
  • The best method for absorption into the body
  • A manufacturer with proper certifications regarding testing and the manufacturer’s reputation

Soft Gel Technologies lives up to the above standards as a manufacturer of the highest quality supplements, including the release of our new, custom formulation for brain and eye health. 

We specialize in high-value supplements made from carefully sourced ingredients, including our unique, carefully tested and developed branded products. We are actively involved in formula research and collecting stability data to help organizations develop unique supplements.

Our world-class manufacturing facility follows good manufacturing practices (GMPs) using state-of-the-art equipment, and our in-house analytical laboratory follows good laboratory practices (cGLPs), using HPLC, GC, and AA for testing. We employ third-party labs for unbiased testing and practice high standards for eco-friendly sustainability practices.

Reach out to our team to discuss how our custom supplement for eye and brain health can provide your customers with the potential health benefits this carefully balanced carotenoid combination provides.