5 Foods for Better Hearing

We know that you should eat a balanced and varied diet to help keep your whole body healthy – but did you know that some foods can help your hearing? Everything we eat impacts our bodies and impacts our general health and wellbeing but eating the right foods can have a significant impact on our ears.

Some studies suggest that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can help to reduce the risk of hearing loss. When choosing foods to give your hearing a boost, look for food’s rich in magnesium, folic acid, zinc and potassium.

Bananas

Not only are bananas delicious, but they can be baked, eaten fresh and put on top of yogurt. This means you can have a big dose of potassium easily. It’s not just potassium that bananas are packed with, though. Magnesium is present in bananas too. So next time you want to grab a quick snack on the go, think of your hearing and eat a banana.

Broccoli

Dark leafy greens are a great option, but if you want to have something a little more flexible in terms of making meals, then broccoli is ideal. Broccoli is known for its huge amount of vitamin C and fiber. But what it can also do is stop the formation of free radicals in your body, and those free radicals can break down cells. Broccoli is also rich in potassium and zinc – two minerals that can help your hearing.

Folate is another mineral that is found in high numbers in broccoli.

Fish

Not only are oily fish great for helping to maintain a healthy heart and brain. But many fish are packed with plenty of vitamins and minerals that can keep our hearing healthy too. Our bodies don’t naturally produce the omega-three fatty acids our brains need to stay healthy.

It is these omega-three fatty acids that can help to lower blood pressure, and high blood pressure has been associated with some hearing conditions – including tinnitus which can be made worse by stress.

Fish is rich in magnesium, potassium, and zinc – it also goes well with broccoli! Fish is also rich in vitamin D, and vitamin D is vital for bone strength and can help prevent things like otosclerosis, where the bone grows abnormally and can cause hearing loss.

Dark Chocolate

If you decide to add dark chocolate into your diet for your hearing health, you must opt for dark chocolate that has over 70% cocoa content. Dark chocolate is known to help lower blood pressure and give your skin a little glow.

And while the sweet treat should be eaten in moderation, there are some benefits for your hearing health by eating a small portion every day. Dark chocolate has a good amount of zinc in it.

Zinc is linked to helping boost the immune system, and some studies show that a diet rich in zinc can help avoid sudden hearing loss. The zinc helps to protect the cochlea by reducing oxidative stress. There are also high levels of antioxidants that can protect the ears against infections. Untreated ear infections can be one of the causes of hearing loss.

Garlic

Eating garlic has been shown to have positive impacts, including reducing blood pressure-lowering cholesterol and it can help to detoxify heavy metals in the body. But what garlic is really great at is giving our bodies a huge boost when it comes to immunity.

When our bodies have a high level of immunity, we are less likely to have an earache, ear infections and potentially tinnitus. Add garlic oil or garlic itself to your cooking as often as possible, and you will have a reduction in inflammation in the body, improved blood flow and decreased chances of infections that could damage your hearing.

There are several vitamins and minerals that you can find in pork, beef, melons, milk, spinach and more:

• Potassium helps to regulate the inner ear
• Folic acid helps to generate new cells and increase circulation
• Magnesium
• zinc increases cell growth heals wounds quickly and helps ward off infections.
• Omega-three fatty acids and vitamin D are anti-inflammatory and can help reduce age-induced hearing loss.

If you have any questions about your hearing or want to make sure that you are taking care of your hearing long-term, call Advanced Hearing of Brighton at 810-355-2245.