Do you often hear a ringing inside your ears when exiting really loud places? Don’t worry, we aren’t about to tell you that you are losing your hearing… yet. Our hearing mechanism is located deep inside our skull and is quite complicated. The delicate pieces that fit together from your ear drum to the cochlea are susceptible to damage, if you have a habit of listening to loud music while wearing headphones. You might have also been advised by your doctor to stay away from ear bud swabs because they tend to push dirt more towards your ear drum rather than away from it.
Here’s the thing hearing loss is so subtle that you don’t feel it until you are well into your 70’s. It’s a part of our aging process, which of course can be prevented by simply doing one thing; maintaining a healthy diet.
How Hearing Loss Occurs
You see, when you are constantly listening to loud music, your inner ear starts to produce free radicals. These are known as corrosive molecules that naturally occur in your body when it is stressed or damaged, from nicks or bloody cuts. Loud music follows the same rule. Remember we said earlier, why you hear that ringing sound when you come out of loud places such as a concert? Well this is what happens: too much volume, too much noise and too many corrosive molecules.
Free Radicals and Folates
The best way to fight these free radicals is by eating food that is rich in high antioxidants, Folates to be specific.
So, what is Folate?
It belongs to the B vitamin line and is water soluble. Known as B9, it is available as a supplement. You will often see “folic acid” written in the nutrients list on a supplement bottle. Folic acid is basically Folate’s synthetic version and both these supplements fight free radical on a daily basis. In fact, people who consume a diet high in Folates are 20% less at risk of hearing loss.
Nutritional Supplements and Good Foods
Taking a B9 supplement is all well and good if it provides you with 100% of the daily recommended folic acid intake. However, you still need to include a few dietary items that will help you fight free radicals from minute to minute.
The following are a few food items with their MDR value that contain a high amount of Folate:
- Vegetarian baked beans: 15%
- ½ cup cooked spinach: 25%
- 4 cooked asparagus spears: 20%
- Raw spinach: 15%
- ½ cup sliced avocado: 10%
- Enriched egg noodles: 15%
- 1 oz dry roasted peanuts: 10%
- ¾ cup orange juice: 10%
- 1 medium size banana: 6%
While other vitamins are also important for the body, none hold the same importance as Folates. Think of it this way: will you be able to live life to the fullest if you are not able to hear the slightest sounds such as the clock ticking or a door opening three rooms away? The answer to that is obviously not. So what are you waiting for and increase your Folate intake!
