The common baking ingredient bicarbonate of soda could help to improve sight, a new study suggests.
Bicarbonate is naturally present in the body, but consuming the substance could have health benefits as well.
Researchers from the Makino Laboratory at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts and Salus University in Pennsylvania discovered that extra consumption of bicarbonate could potentially enhance a person's vision.
They found that the substance can alter the visual signals generated by the rod and cone parts of the eye when an image is viewed, helping them to detect light more efficiently.
In scientific terms, cGMP - a small molecule in the eye - naturally connects photon absorption to the activity of the photoreceptor, but when exposed to light, cGMP is destroyed.
This means that positively-charged sodium ions can no longer enter the rod or the cone, which leads to an individual viewing whatever they are seeing in either a negative or hyperpolarised manner.
However, the doctors found that bicarbonate can help to stimulate the eye's production of guanylate cyclase, which in turn creates cGMP, meaning the common cake ingredient could assist in boosting a person's eyesight.
Clint Makino, lead author of the study, explained: 'By opposing the effect of light, bicarbonate limits the size of the photon response and quickens its recovery. As a result, sensitivity to light is slightly lower, but our ability to track moving objects is improved.'
He added that people's vision can be altered depending on their metabolism, indicating that there could be potential for exploring if bicarbonate of soda could impact on this.
Previous research has shown that bicarbonate can also help with digestion and breaking down lactic acid in the muscles following exercise, as it is naturally produced as a waste product of cells, but can be consumed in certain foods and carbonated drinks.
A further investigation is now being planned by the US doctors to explore whether or not bicarbonate of soda could prevent the development of eye-related diseases.