Healthy diet, healthy hearing
A healthy, plant-based diet may have unexpected benefits – a lower risk of hearing loss!
An original study set out to investigate whether there is a link between healthy diets and the risk of hearing loss. The scientific team gathered data on diet and hearing loss from over 80,000 women between 1991 and 2013. When this impressive amount of research was analysed, the results revealed that the healthier the diet, the lower the risk of hearing loss.
The dietary patterns the researchers considered as healthy were predominantly plant-based with plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, pulses, nuts and seeds. Women who had the healthiest diets had around 30 per cent lower risk of suffering hearing loss with age.
Curhan SG et al., 2018. Adherence to Healthful Dietary Patterns Is Associated with Lower Risk of Hearing Loss in Women. Journal of Nutrition. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxy058. [Epub ahead of print]
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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