The majority of us have been advised to eat our carrots for excellent eye sight. But what about foods that are beneficial to hearing? Did anyone ever tell you about those? We can finally tell our children what to eat for healthy ears and hearing; advice that’s undoubtedly prudent for us to follow as well.
Hearing impairment can be caused by numerous things including noise, infections and age. Nutrients in the following foods can help prevent or slow the progression of some typical causes of hearing loss.
You’ll probably be excited to learn that dark chocolate is good for your hearing health! The zinc present in dark chocolate helps prevent zinc deficiencies which are connected to age-related hearing loss. If you don’t care for dark chocolate, eat some oysters on the half shell; any foods that contain zinc will work!
Loud noise exposure can stimulate the generation of damaging free radicals possibly causing the death of inner ear hair cells. Folic acid and antioxidants can control free radical damage in the inner ear. A few foods rich in both antioxidants and folic acid are spinach, nuts, asparagus and eggs.
Interestingly, studies show that fish such as salmon and trout that possesses omega 3 fats and vitamin D, may reduce the incidence of age-related hearing loss. The anchovies topping your pizza and the can of tuna most likely in your pantry are additional good sources of fish containing omega 3 fats and vitamin D. Consumed twice per week, any of these have a good chance of helping you hear better in your later years.
Professionals subjected to loud noise at work, for example heavy equipment operators or musicians, are at a high risk for hearing damage. Bananas, potatoes and artichokes are loaded with magnesium and may help protect the hearing of people with a pastime or a job subjecting them to extreme noises. Foods loaded with the mineral magnesium help protect against noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) although it is not known how or why it works.
Today, combined with the nudging to eat carrots for good vision, we can help our kids and grandkids defend their ears from hearing loss by incorporating simple foods we probably have in our kitchen.