People are quite comfortable with the idea that you can eat your way to better eye health. “Carrots help you see in the dark” – or so the saying goes. But when it comes to eating for good ear health, people tend to be a little skeptical. Does what you eat really affect how well you can hear?

It turns out that, just like the rest of your body, your ears are susceptible to lifestyle factors, like what you eat. What’s more, research shows that there are specific foods that can enhance the function of your ears and bolster them against the damaging effects of aging.

So what are these superfoods for hearing? Let’s take a look.

Broccoli

Broccoli is one of those foods that keeps coming up over and over again in the healthy eating literature. Packed with goodness, broccoli is one of the healthiest foods you can eat and has among the highest nutrient-density of any item regularly on your plate.

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Scientists think that broccoli might be able to protect the ears for two reasons: one because it’s high in nutrients associated with inner ear health, and two because it can supercharge detoxifying enzymes in the liver.

Broccoli contains high levels of vitamin K and vitamin C. Both of these vitamins help to douse free-radicals in the blood which, in turn, helps to protect sensitive cells all over the body, including those in the inner ear.

The other benefit of broccoli is its strange ability to increase the activity of specific detoxification enzymes in the liver. A chemical found in pre-chopped broccoli (or broccoli eaten raw) can boost the ability of our livers to remove chemicals from the blood that could damage the ears.

Cocoa

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One of the reasons why people use hearing aids you can learn more about online is that they get recurring infections. Infection can cause scarring of ear tissue, reducing function. Cocoa, however, may help. Cocoa is one of the most complex foods that people eat, containing thousands of distinct, individual compounds which may promote health.

Cocoa is high in the mineral zinc, an essential nutrient for maintaining a healthy immune system. The more zinc in the diet, the more robust ears are against infection.

Bananas

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True, bananas aren’t strictly a paleo food, thanks to their high carbohydrate content, but they could still be great for people worried about the health of their ears. Bananas are high in magnesium, a mineral that is deficient in the Western diet. Magnesium is a crucial mineral for improving circulation.

Poor circulation is one of the reasons for age-related hearing loss, so eating bananas could help to protect against it. There are loads of ways to eat bananas, but they’re a great addition to smoothies if you don’t fancy going fully green just yet. Bananas have an uncanny ability to make all but the most pungent raw veggies taste good. The sweetness of the banana blocks the flavor of the sulfurous compounds in dark green leafy vegetables.

You can also make bananas into soft-serve ice cream as a dairy-free alternative to regular ice cream.