Halloween is just around the corner and the candy is already out in full force. Since October 1 hit it’s been nearly impossible to avoid the orange and black and purple colored candies looming near the front of the grocery stores. Unfortunately, it’s not the best food for our hearing.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) cited a recent study stating that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes as it is in those who don’t have the disease. Also, of the 86 million adults in the U.S. who have prediabetes, the rate of hearing loss is 30 percent higher than in those with normal blood glucose.

The ADA admits that researchers aren’t sure what the relation between diabetes and hearing loss is. “It’s possible that the high blood glucose levels associated with diabetes can cause damage to small blood vessels in the inner ear, similar to the way in which diabetes can damage the eyes and the kidneys.”

While research has yet to prove a cut-and-dry, definitive menu to prevent hearing loss, researchers have determined specific, key nutrients found in every day whole foods that help strengthen systemic components that enable us to pick up and process sound.

  • Vitamin B-12 — abundant in dairy products — and folic acid, rich in leafy green vegetables, for example, can protect hearing by as much as 20 percent, according to some studies. Without ample levels of these two nutrients, individuals have a 39 percent increased risk of developing some degree of hearing loss.
  • In another study, omega-3 fats — found in tofu, brussells sprouts and cauliflower — and vitamin D — high in fish and egg yolks — were both found to be helpful in the fight against hearing loss.
  • Magnesium — a well known nutrient to help prevent hearing loss — found in bananas, artichokes and broccoli.

Content provided by Healthy Hearing