The Challenge of Getting the Proper Nutrition
It may surprise you that nutrition plays such an important role in your hearing. Our bodies are finely tuned self-healing machines. To do a proper job, however, they need the right resources. Even when we try to get the proper vitamins for tinnitus relief, Western culture makes it difficult.
The modern Western diet has changed dramatically over the last hundred years. We eat too much food that lacks nutritional value and don’t get enough fruits and vegetables. We miss out on the micronutrients and enzymes present in the raw produce. We also overload our systems with sugar, modified oils, and chemicals, starving our bodies of essential nutrients (nutrients we can only get through consumption).
Even when you try to stay away from junk food and eat healthy, it’s still hard to get all the nutrients you need. A hundred years ago, when farmers grew on a smaller scale, there was more biodiversity. Today, the selection for many fruits and vegetables has narrowed, and the varieties available are often less nutritious.
For example, there are hundreds of different subspecies of cauliflower. They’re round, cone-shaped, domed, and flat and come in colors like purple and yellow. Different varieties have different nutrients. Yellow cauliflower, for instance, is rich in beta carotene, which is good for eye health, immune function, and skin. Most supermarkets today just carry white cauliflower, so you can’t easily tap into all the nutrients available in the full range of colors.
And lack of biodiversity isn’t the only problem. The practices of today’s commercial mega-farms can lead to less nutritious produce. A home farm rotates crops as the growing season progresses. Each plant takes specific nutrients from the soil and puts other nutrients back. Then, the farmer picks the fruit when it is fully ripe. On the other hand, commercial farms mass produce the same crop year after year, depleting the soil of required nutrients for a healthy crop.
Commercial farms also use chemical fertilizers and pesticides to prevent pests and force a higher yield. They use certain types of gasses to retard the ripening process on the trees and prevent fruit drop. They apply other gasses to encourage ripening after harvest and processing. They pick fruits and vegetables before they are fully ripe so they can transport the produce without bruising. That’s why a home-grown tomato that ripens on the vine tastes so much better than the store-bought variety.
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Why Supplements?
For all of the reasons mentioned above, supplements can be critical to getting the nutrition you need. Vitamins and minerals help the body develop and age well. They boost the immune system and support the function of the cells and organs. Supplements can help you maintain a healthy nutritional balance so that your body can perform like it was intended to.
Essential Nutrients
Essential nutrients are divided into two groups: soluble and insoluble. Soluble vitamins dissolve in water or fat. Water-based vitamins pass through the body quickly and must be constantly replaced. Fat-soluble vitamins must be taken in small amounts because they can build up to toxic levels. Minerals are inorganic insoluble substances found in the Earth that are absorbed by plants and eaten by animals. They help the body create cells and hormones, transmit electricity, and perform a host of other functions.
How Essential Nutrients Affect Tinnitus
What vitamins are good for ringing in the ears? The recommended nutrients and vitamins for tinnitus relief each aid the body in ways that affect hearing health.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
You’ve no doubt heard a lot about “good fats” vs “bad fats.” Omega 3 and Omega 6 are both healthy fats that your body requires to function properly.
Humans don’t create these nutrient sources. They must consume them. The ideal ratio between Omega 3 and Omega 6 should be 1:1. Unfortunately, Western culture has moved away from eating foods high in Omega 3, like fish. Instead, they consume more foods containing Omega 6, like grains and soybean oil, creating an imbalanced ratio of 1:20-1:30, according to the Brain Health Education and Research Institute. That imbalance tends to spread until you experience health problems.
Here’s why. Omega 6 is pro-inflammatory, meaning it encourages inflammation. If you are injured, your body sends resources to the injury site to make repairs, causing swelling. After an injury, inflammation is generally a good thing, part of the body’s natural healing process. Prolonged inflammation, however, has a degenerative effect on the body. Rather than repairing the body, it causes damage to the surrounding tissues and could lead to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, and more.
Omega 3, on the other hand, is antiinflammatory. It keeps the Omega 6 in check and regulates inflammation caused by other bodily processes. Insulin, for example, can cause inflammation when too much stays in the bloodstream. Excess insulin production from a high-carb diet attacks blood vessel walls and can damage them to the point that they cannot provide blood, nutrients, and oxygen to your nerves.
Additionally, Omega 3 helps maintain healthy cell membrane walls, helps the body produce necessary hormones, and aids in blood clotting when you’re injured. It’s also essential to the development, maintenance, and function of the brain, eyes, and nervous system.
Consequently, Omega 3 protects the blood supply to nerves and prevents cellular degeneration caused by inflammation. It maintains the nervous system, including the auditory nerve responsible for translating electrical impulses into sound and the tiny, hair-like nerves in the cochlea. You can read more about this connection here.
Food sources for Omega 3 include salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, herring, flax seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
High-Grade Ginkgo Biloba Extract
Ginkgo Biloba has been used in medicine for thousands of years and is one of the most studied herbs on Earth. As reported by the National Library of Medicine, studies show it is a powerful antioxidant, helps with neuroplasticity, increases blood flow, and calms hyperactivity in the nerves, which is a source of tinnitus symptoms.
Zinc
Another useful nutrient for tinnitus is zinc. Zinc is found in every cell of your body but is especially concentrated in the cochlea. It’s essential for DNA synthesis, the production of certain proteins, natural immune system function, cell division and growth, wound healing, and preventing nerve damage as you age.
Some conditions, like diabetes, can cause a zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiencies then cause tinnitus symptoms, so the logical solution is to increase zinc consumption. However, zinc is not water-soluble, so your body doesn’t excrete excess zinc through urine. It is possible to build up toxic levels of zinc in your body, so it’s important that you get zinc from food sources or get the proper amount through high-quality supplements. Make sure to consult your healthcare provider rather than self-diagnose a zinc deficiency.
Nerve cell regeneration can help the body heal damaged nerves after loud noise or trauma if the damage isn’t too severe. Preventing nerve damage due to age protects your hearing. Zinc is a powerhouse nutrient in this effort.
Food sources for zinc include oysters, shrimp, sardines, beef, pork, pine nuts, chia seeds, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and pecans.
Garlic: Garlic has been associated with improving circulation by lowering cholesterol. The nerves in the cochlea, as well as the auditory nerve, benefit from healthy blood flow. Strong blood flow ensures that the nerves get the nutrients and oxygen they need, while cells can eliminate unnecessary waste. As arteries get clogged, the tiny capillaries feeding your nerves can starve and die, affecting your hearing.
Garlic is also a powerful anti-inflammatory. People use garlic oil on their joints to help with arthritis. Garlic taken through oral supplements may also help with inflammation. If left unchecked, inflammation could attack the nerves (including the nerves involved with hearing).
Vitamin B12: Tinnitus vitamin B12 is an essential component used to create red blood cells and the myelin sheath. Myelin is the insulative covering protecting nerves throughout the body. If someone is Vitamin B deficient, the nerves can receive three types of damage:
- Axonal degeneration – The nerve degrades internally, which interrupts proper signaling between the cochlea, auditory nerve, and the brain.
- Demyelination – The protective sheath surrounding the nerve degrades, causing hyperstimulation and eventually nerve death.
- Subsequent apoptotic neuronal death – Nutrient deficiency triggers a planned neural cell suicide. The body reabsorbs the cells as waste and eliminates them.
Studies have shown that people suffering from tinnitus symptoms react positively to increased vitamin B12. The sooner the nutrient deficiency is corrected, the better the outcome.
B vitamins are water-soluble. You’ll notice urine turns an orange-ish yellow when your body passes excess vitamin B complex. Depending on the cause and extent of the deficiency, your provider can opt for subdermal vitamin B injections, but dietary supplements are suitable for most patients. Note that B12 molecules are poorly absorbed through the gut, which is why Arches Tinnitus B12 formula comes in the form of a sublingual lozenge that goes under the tongue for maximum absorption.
Some of the best food sources for B12 include fish, shellfish, poultry, meat, dairy products, and eggs.
Vitamin A: Another vitamin for ear ringing is vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant that helps protect nerves from free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that steal electrons from other molecules, corrupting cells as they travel through your system.
Free radicals are a natural byproduct of cellular metabolism, but they can also come from radiation or pollutants. A healthy immune system can deal with normal levels of free radicals, though your body degrades with age. Antioxidants like vitamin A help your immune system fight free radicals, protecting your cells from damage, including the tiny nerve cells in the inner ear.
Tinnitus vitamin A food sources include liver, cod liver oil, sweet potatoes, tuna, butternut squash, mackerel, cantaloupe, apricots, and broccoli.
Vitamin E: Vitamin E, like vitamin A, is an important antioxidant and vitamin for tinnitus relief because it protects the ear nerves from damage. Vitamin E deficiencies are associated with disorders that inhibit proper fat absorption, like pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, or celiac disease.
Good food sources include spinach, chard, sunflower seeds, trout, almonds, butternut squash, peanuts, avocados, and beet greens.
Vitamin Supplements For Tinnitus Relief
Clearly, vitamins and minerals play an important role in ear health, preventing damage over time and healing after trauma. But given all of the food sources needed to keep the body functioning well, getting adequate amounts of every nutrient can be complicated. So how do you know if you need to take supplements? Here are some quick guidelines.
- Your provider can detect deficient nutrients with a blood test.
- If the vitamins are water soluble, the body cannot store them for future use. To ensure you have an adequate supply of these nutrients, taking daily supplements may be helpful.
- If you don’t have access to quality sources of the required nutrients in your area, or your dietary preferences or allergies prevent you from getting all the nutrients you need, supplements may be a good choice.
Just remember that not all supplements are created equal. Many manufacturers cut corners, giving you an adulterated or diluted product. Arches provides supplements of the highest quality—exceptionally pure and potent—so they don’t just wash through you without having the desired effect. That’s why so many patients are overcoming the effects of tinnitus with the help of our Arches supplements.