Exciting Research with Antioxidants

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For some time now, researchers have focused their attention on antioxidants and their potential benefits to prevent and even cure hearing loss. Even the Department of Defense (thousands of US GIs suffer from hearing loss and tinnitus) has shown interest and awarded $1.2 to the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill earlier this year (Read article : http://www.hear-it.org/Antioxidants-against-noise-induced-hearing-loss)

Researchers at the University of Michigan's Kresge Hearing Research Institute are also studying this lead. A very interesting finding is that "previously, it was believed that loud sounds or noise damaged hearing by directly destroying the inner ear’s sensory hair cells by intense vibration. More recent studies indicate that noise exposure damages sensory cells by the formation of free radicals, damaging molecules known to cause cell death. Colleen Le Prell’s research shows that damage to the sensory cells can be prevented by antioxidants that prevent free radical damage by binding to free radical molecules and rendering them harmless. " Read the complete article (http://american-hearing.org/uncategorized/high-antioxidants/).

These two articles and others are conclusive in that antioxidants do help prevent and even protect against hearing loss. They do not mention, however, what amount should be ingested to achieve a positive effect.

And now that you'll probably start eating more hearing loss fighting antioxidants, where do you find them?

The Most Common Antioxidants and Where to Find Them

Some of the most common antioxidants, and the foods which contain them, are:

• Vitamin A and Carotenoids, which are found in carrots, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kale, collards, cantaloupe, peaches and apples.
• Vitamin C, which is found in citrus fruits, green peppers, leafy green vegetables, strawberries and tomatoes.
• Vitamin E, which is found in nuts and seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, vegetable oil and liver oil.
• Selenium, which is found in fish, shellfish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken and garlic.

Some other common antioxidants include:

• Flavoniods and polyphenols, which are found in soy, red wine, purple and red grapes, pomegranates, cranberries and tea.
• Lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon.
• Lutein, which is found in dark green vegetables such as kale, kiwi, broccoli, brusselssprouts and spinach.
• Lignan, which is found in flax seed, oatmeal, barley and rye.