From the Retina to the Cortex: Dietary Carotenoids for Lifelong Visual and Cognitive Health

Carotenoid research is rapidly expanding in the field of human nutrition, reflecting renewed interest in understanding how these phytonutrients contribute to health at every stage of life. Carotenoids—such as lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene, lycopene and astaxanthin—are pigmented compounds that give the yellow, orange, red and pink color to the foods we eat. The paradigm is shifting from an isolated nutrient perspective to a broader appreciation for carotenoid-rich dietary patterns, which often coincide with other beneficial compounds like polyphenols, fiber, and healthy fats. Recent advances recognize that the impact of carotenoids on visual, cognitive, immune, and cardiometabolic outcomes is not uniform but shaped by age, physiological status, microbiome composition, and the interaction with broader diet quality. Despite significant progress, key questions remain regarding critical periods for intervention, individual differences in absorption and metabolism, and strategies to optimize carotenoid intake across populations and cultures amid changing food environments. This Research Topic aims to consolidate and propel our understanding of how dietary carotenoids can promote visual and cognitive health throughout the human lifespan. A central objective is to stimulate high-quality, multidisciplinary research to better understand carotenoid absorption and bioavailability from food matrices, capturing both carotenoid-rich dietary patterns & influence of rising supplement intake on functions of the eye and the brain and determine how life stage, dietary habits, and lifestyle may modulate carotenoid-associated benefits to vision and cognition. This topic encourages the exploration of new hypotheses to better understand the interrelationships between carotenoid intake and factors such as overall diet, physiology, genetics that will lead to development of practical solutions for optimizing vision and cognitive functioning globally in populations from the youngest to the oldest. The scope of this Research Topic is confined to human nutrition, emphasizing carotenoid-rich diets from gestation to late adulthood and its connection to visual and cognitive health. Animal, crop, or studies lacking a primary nutrition focus are not included. We welcome original research, systematic reviews, methodology papers, policy analyses, and clinical trials addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: • Understanding specific roles of carotenoids in the diet (food sources & supplements) in pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adulthood, and aging for visual and cognitive health • Validation of noninvasive tools to assess carotenoid status in the body and its application to assessing visual and cognitive functions • Strategies to improve carotenoid status - Food matrix effects, bioavailability from different sources including supplements, and the influence of global and cultural differences in dietary and lifestyle habits on carotenoid intake and bioavailability • Innovation around carotenoid supplementation - strategies for treatment of diseases that affect the eye and brain, including but not limited to Age-related macular degeneration and Alzheimer's disease • Strategies to increase dietary carotenoid density at a population level, addressing food systems, cultural acceptance, and reducing health disparities Topic editors: Rohini Vishwanathan, Deshanie Rai Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77794/from-the-retina-to-the-cortex-dietary-carotenoids-for-lifelong-visual-and-cognitive-health