Top Baseball Prospects Utilizing Nutrition to Optimize Vision, Reflexes, at Major League Baseball's 2014 Arizona Fall League

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To get to the top of their game, professional baseball players must take every measure they can to improve. The Arizona Fall League, which is an off-season league owned and operated by Major League Baseball, gives some of the league's top prospects more time to do just that.  By improving their skills, players prepare to take the jump to the big leagues, a jump two-thirds of Fall League players will eventually make. 

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Running from early October until the championship game in mid November, the Arizona Fall League has seen some of baseball's top stars perform before they were stars.  Household names like Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Giancarlo Stanton, and Matt Holiday all donned Fall League jerseys at one point in their respected careers.

And while they are there to play baseball, they are being exposed to a new, safe way to improve their performance. "Boosting vision and reaction time through nutrition is a relatively new concept," according to Dave Ellis, a sports dietician with over 30 years of experience in the field.  Ellis worked with EyePromise, a doctor-recommended, NSF certified brand of eye health vitamins during the 2013 and 2014 Arizona Fall League seasons, travelling from club house to club house, educating some of baseball's top minor league prospects on the link between certain nutrients and improved vision, processing speed, and reaction time. "The truth of the matter is that there is a growing body of research that supports the positive role specific nutrients like Zeaxanthin have on the way our eyes perform."

In 2012, ZeaVision Holdings Inc, the parent company of EyePromise, launched EyePromise vizual EDGE PRO, an NSF certified for sport eye vitamins formulated specifically for the needs of high performance athletes.  EyePromise vizual EDGE PRO is designed to help athletes see better and react faster by improving vision quality and increasing visual processing speed, or the speed at which the eyes and brain communicate.  According to Dr. Dennis Gierhart, the founder of ZeaVision Holdings and scientist behind the EyePromise brand of eye vitamins, the growing body of research was becoming too great to ignore. "When you look at the physical demands of a baseball player, vision is paramount. Everything starts with the information they take in through their eyes," said Dr. Gierhart.  EyePromise, whom most recently collaborated with the University of Georgia to publish a study on the effects of paprika-derived Zeaxanthin on vision and reaction time, has been in the forefront of those research efforts and just concluded its second year working with the Arizona Fall League. 

Before the game on Saturday, EyePromise presented an award to the 2014 Arizona Fall League batting champion and prized Cincinnati Reds prospect, Jesse Winker.  Winker, who hit .338 over the course of the season, won a close race, leading all hitters in batting average going into the championship game.  His performance raised funds for Optometry Giving Sight, a global fundraising initiative that targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error. 

Baseball players aren't the only ones utilizing paprika-derived Zeaxanthin for improved vision and reaction time.  According to Dr. Gierhart, adopters range from USA Olympic hockey hopefuls to professional basketball players, golfers, tennis players, and even Olympic skeet and trap shooters.  "We have had a huge influx of people asking to buy what the pros are taking," said Dr. Gierhart.  Based on that demand, EyePromise recently launched EyePromise vizual EDGE, a one-a-day vitamin supplement that makes it convenient and affordable for everyday people to get the nutrients their eyes need to perform and peak levels. 

About ZeaVision Inc
ZeaVision®, the parent company of EyePromise®, was founded in 2001 with a mission to fight vision loss and preserve healthy vision. With over 20 years of research, ZeaVision pioneered the use of Zeaxanthin, a natural antioxidant and photo-protectant, for eye health use. With more than 50-million doses consumed, EyePromise products are made in the U.S.A from the highest-quality, natural ingredients.

Contact:
Shane Gierhart
Business Development Manager
ZeaVision Holdings Inc
(866) 833-2800
Email
www.eyepromise.com

ZeaVision® and EyePromise® are the respective logos and registered trademarks of ZeaVision Holdings Inc. All other trademarks herein are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

SOURCE ZeaVision