Did you know hearing loss can be connected to heart disease?
Heart disease impacts blood flow to the inner ear, which can lead to hearing loss.
EarQ, a nationwide network of values-driven, patient-focused, and forward-thinking independent hearing healthcare providers, provides patients greater access to life-changing hearing devices and services. EarQ shared information explaining the connection between hearing loss and heart disease below.
While you’re already monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol level to protect yourself against heart disease, there’s one more risk factor you need to consider: your hearing.
Researchers have called the ears a “window to the heart” because audiogram patterns correlate with signs of heart issues by showing decreased blood flow to the cochlea, the structure within the inner ear that supports the auditory process.
As sounds travel through the cochlea, they’re converted into neural signals for your brain to process and understand. Over time, disruptions to that process can contribute to a variety of physical, emotional, and mental health concerns. Because hearing loss can occur gradually, the best way to monitor your hearing health is to receive an annual hearing screening.
Women have a special connection to both heart disease and hearing loss and can especially benefit from taking steps to improve their health. In addition to annual screenings, there is a more tasty way to lower your risk of heart disease and hearing loss. Studies have shown that women who eat two or more servings of fish a week have a decreased risk of developing hearing loss, as the omega-3 fatty acids support healthy blood flow throughout the body, including the cochlea.
Vitamin C to Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
Individuals with high fruit and vegetable intake have a 15% lower risk of developing heart disease and a 20% lower risk of early death when compared to those who rarely eat fruit and vegetables, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers state this reduced risk of heart disease and early death for regular fruit and vegetable consumers is related to a high concentration of vitamin C in the blood.
The role of vitamin C in heart disease
- Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant enhancing the body’s response to free radicals and protecting the arteries from oxidative damage.
- Vitamin C enables collagen synthesis in arterial wall connective tissue, strengthening blood vessel walls. Weakened collagen makes it easier for oxidized LDL and the inflammatory process to gain a foothold and plaque formation.
- Vitamin C increases nitric oxide levels. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator increasing the arteries ability to widen and reduce blood pressure.
Vitamin C also…
- Aides in wound healing
- Boosts the immune system by increasing white blood cells and interferons
- Slows gum disease
- Aids carnitine synthesis
- Reduces leukotrienes production (factor in allergic reactions)
- Increases fertility
- Aids regeneration of vitamin E
- Enhances iron absorption
- Plays a role in serotonin production (a neurotransmitter impacting mood and appetite)
- Reduces incidence of cataracts
- Acts as a diuretic
- Decreases bruising
Vitamin C in your diet
The body cannot make vitamin C, which means you must consume vitamin C in either foods or supplements. I encourage you to increase your intake of fruit and vegetables to boost your vitamin C intake daily.
Some foods rich in vitamin C include red sweet peppers, turnip greens, broccoli, red cabbage, strawberries, spinach, oranges, mangos, cantaloupes, and raspberries.
Causes of vitamin C deficiency
Be especially aware if you have any of the following conditions or take any of the following medications. They promote vitamin C deficiency:
- Antibiotics
- Stress
- Aspirin
- Painkillers
- Sulfa drugs
- High fever
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes mellitus
- Cortisone
- Birth control pills
- Smoking
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it leaves the body quickly. You should consume foods rich in vitamin C throughout the day.
Be sure to access the free ecourse “How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps” at http://lowercholesterolwithlisa.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Health Pro for HealthCentral
Image courtesy of Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Add Mushrooms to Your Diet to Reduce Heart Disease Risk
More research is linking vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for heart disease.
Not truly a vitamin, Vitamin D acts as a hormone that regulates over 200 genes. Some functions of vitamin D include:
- Aids in absorption of calcium within in intestinal track
- Necessary for blood clotting
- Aids in secretion of insulin from the pancreas to regular blood sugar levels
- Stimulates mineralization of bone cells
- Necessary for thyroid function
What causes vitamin D deficiency?
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25 Year Cardiology Study Links Prehypertension in Young Adults to Heart Problems Later in Life
Dr. Freeman shares what young adults can do now to prevent heart problems later in life.
What are the results of this 25 year cardiology study linking prehypertension in young adults and heart problems later in life?
Prehypertension can lead to adaptive changes that result in structural alterations in the cardiovascular system, including heart muscle structure, coronary vasculature, and conduction system of the heart over time. Structural changes eventually lead to functional changes resulting in disease: coronary artery disease, angina, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure.
What does this study mean for young adults?
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Increase Nitric Oxide and Decrease Blood Pressure with Beetroot Juice
There are many heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, associated with low nitric oxide levels.
Nitric oxide has many bodily functions, include vasodilation of blood vessels to govern blood pressure.
It was previously believed nitric oxide was only produced via oxidation of L-arginine, an amino acid, in the presence of oxygen. New research has confirmed a second pathway for increasing nitric oxide levels. This second pathway is the conversion of nitrates to nitrite to nitric oxide.
Vegetables are a source of nitrates.
Approximately 85% of dietary nitrate comes from vegetables. The remaining 15% from drinking water. When you consume dietary nitrates, they are absorbed in the stomach and small intestine. Of the ingested nitrates, about 25% is extracted by the salivary glands and concentrated in saliva. It is an enzyme on the surface of the tongue that converts nitrate to nitrite. When the nitrite in saliva is then swallowed it is converted to nitric oxide by the acidic environment of the stomach.
To restate: Nitrate in food becomes nitrite in saliva which then converts to nitric oxide in the stomach.
Nitric oxide obtained from dietary nitrate sources, such as vegetables, provides an alternate treatment plan for increasing protective nitric oxide levels.
Beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure 10.4 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure 9 mm Hg 2.5 – 3 hours after ingestion.
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Use Waist-to-Height Ratio to Predict Your Heart Disease Risk
The waist-to-height ratio is used to measure body fat distribution. A higher ratio is related to increased risk of heart disease due to abdominal obesity.
Waist-to-height ratio and BMI are both popular screening tools for health risks connected to obesity. These methods are quick and cost efficient to use.
Researchers presenting a study with more than 2900 individuals at the 2015 European Congress on Obesity determined waist-to-height ratio measurements to be more accurate and more efficient for identifying heart disease risk when compared to using BMI alone.
When using BMI measurements, 41% of men and 29% of women in the study were classified as “normal”, but had waist-to-height ratios above normal. Researchers determine this would equal 12% of the population being misclassified as normal if only BMI measurements were utilized to assess risk.
