A week without phone or Internet service — well, it was a change!\u00a0 After the first Facebook withdrawal symptoms, it was a welcome one.\u00a0 Knowing I would be out of communication range, I posted a week\u2019s worth of encouragement ahead of time.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m back — and learning about more how to avoid the pitfalls of aging.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve talked about the ways you can prevent age-related hearing loss. It\u2019s a real problem.\u00a0 When you can\u2019t communicate you tend to withdraw socially and then you get depressed. You miss out on so much when you can\u2019t hear.\u00a0 The good news is that there are things you can do to prevent it.<\/p>\n
Turning down the volume and promptly taking care of ear infections top the list.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also seen that what you eat matters.\u00a0 Omega 3s, folate, and magnesium have been shown by clinical studies to decrease the onset of hearing loss.<\/p>\n
Another study I found on PubMed from 2010 tested yet another food-factor on hearing. It was an animal study done on rats.\u00a0 One group was given a high dose of antioxidants in their food. A second group was given a low dose, and a third group was the control, with no added antioxidants in their food.<\/p>\n
\u201cAuditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds were recorded at baseline and every three months following initiation of treatment,\u201d the abstract says.\u00a0 Not sure how they did that.\u00a0 How do you give a rat a hearing test?\u00a0 I\u2019ll have to take it on trust they knew what they were doing.<\/p>\n
At any rate, the results were clear.\u00a0 The more antioxidants the rats ate, the less hearing loss they experienced.<\/p>\n
What does that mean for us non-rats?\u00a0 If we make sure our diets are rich in antioxidants, we can help maintain our hearing into our golden years.<\/p>\n
And where do we get those antioxidants which do so much for us?\u00a0 USDA scientists analyzed antioxidant levels in more than 100 different foods.\u00a0 Cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries ranked highest among the fruits they studied.\u00a0 Beans, artichokes, and Russet potatoes topped the list for the veggies.\u00a0 Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts had the top scores in the nut category.\u00a0 It\u2019s not hard to add these into your diet.<\/p>\n
Of course, you can take an antioxidant supplement.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Make sure and do your research, though.\u00a0 Many supplements are worse than useless because they are synthetic, or not standardized, or in a form that causes them to lose their value.\u00a0 A study one supplement company did just to size up the competition found that some of the antioxidants had no value — and some actually had a negative value, promoting the free radicals the antioxidants should be fighting. You have to research and check out the company to make sure it is legit and reputable.<\/p>\n
And you can eat your antioxidants by choosing foods where they abound.\u00a0 Except for the potatoes, all the top foods are low glycemic, so they will also help with your weight loss efforts.\u00a0 And that\u2019s not a bad way to look at the picture.\u00a0 Instead of focusing on what you SHOULD NOT eat, focus on adding in the foods you SHOULD.\u00a0 Food isn\u2019t your enemy.\u00a0 Your body wants nutritious foods and will run longer and more smoothly if you feed it high quality fuel.<\/p>\n
And that includes your ears.\u00a0 So snack on some berries and nuts and fix an inexpensive pot of beans for dinner once in a while. You may be hearing the sweet voice of your great-great-grandchildren some day!<\/p>\n
Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n
Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n
Here is where I found this study: http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/20723783<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A week without phone or Internet service — well, it was a change!\u00a0 After the first Facebook withdrawal symptoms, it was a welcome one.\u00a0 Knowing I would be out of communication range, I posted a week\u2019s worth of encouragement ahead of time.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m back — and learning about more how to avoid the pitfalls…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[369,9],"tags":[581,596,546,597,598,588,243,599],"class_list":["post-1931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clinical-studies","category-eating-plan","tag-aging","tag-antioxidants","tag-blackberries","tag-blueberries","tag-cranberries","tag-hearing","tag-nuts","tag-vegetables"],"yoast_head":"\n