While there are proven benefits to foods like fish, dark chocolate, fruits and vegetables you’re your overall health, they also offer extra benefits of improving your hearing health and curbing hearing damage. You may know that hearing health goes down as you age, making you more likely to have hearing damage. But did you know that the foods you consume may help your chance of fighting hearing loss over time? It’s true. Protection of your ears is crucial to a healthy diet, and this is all supported by evidence that points out healthy foods are good for our bodies and even better for our ears. Here are some foods you should eat on a regular basis to upkeep the health of your ears.
Citrus Snacks
Citrus — well known for its healing properties to keep the common cold from setting in—also has the ability to keep harmful ear infections at bay. This is thanks to all the vitamin C and E present in oranges and lemons, which you can take advantage of when it comes to fighting off infection. You should never leave an ear infection untreated, as this can lead to chronic hearing impairments.
Beneficial Broccoli
This crunchy veggie, along other similar cruciferous veggies, boosts your hearing health because it’s so abundant in vitamin and minerals. These work in tandem to stave off the damage to ear tissue brought on by damaging free radicals. Preventing hearing loss isn’t difficult when you regularly eat veggies like broccoli. Bonus: your skin and hair will glow with radiance.
Fish like Salmon
Salmon and other types of fish contain beneficial levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential in the improvement of blood flow. Getting your blood pumping at strong levels is important for a healthy lifestyle, not to mention the positive effect improved blood flow has on your ears. As you age, it becomes more and more important to keep fatty acids, such as those in salmon, a central part of your diet.
Dark Chocolate
Say that again? Can chocolate really be good for you? Well, dark chocolate can – it has all the real benefits, and while chocolate may not be good for your waistline, it’s certainly beneficial to your ears. Thanks to all the zinc and other antioxidants dark chocolate is popular for, your inner ears are protected against one of the biggest health threats to the senior population: hearing loss. Another way to get zinc if you want a quick fix is to take a daily supplement.
Going Bananas
Are going bananas for magnesium? That’s exactly what bananas contain that makes them so healthy for your body. Your ears in particular reap the benefits of this healthy, versatile fruit, which can reverse the devastating effects to your ear of all those loud noises you’ve been hearing in your lifetime. Reduce your chance of having hearing loss by indulging in this tasty treat on your cereal or in a fruit smoothie.