A small garden can yield a variety of fresh, seasonable vegetables. Plants contain fiber, vitamins and minerals along with compounds which play a role in preventing certain kinds of cancers, heart disease and stroke. Certain vegetables can even be beneficial to your hearing health.

Spinach, broccoli and asparagus
These vegetables contain folic acid, which reduces the number of free radicals in your body that can damage the delicate tissue in your inner ear. According to a Dutch study, participants who were given a folic acid supplement had less low-frequency hearing loss than those receiving a placebo.

Artichokes, broccoli and potatoes
Plant these vegetables to get your daily intake of Magnesium. An article in the 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology states those with a magnesium deficiency are more at risk for developing hearing loss as a result of noise damage, ototoxicity or auditory hyperexcitability.

Bell peppers
If you can sneak a few bell peppers into your kids’ – or grand-kids’ – diet this year and they may have a reduced incidence of ear infections. That’s because bell peppers have Vitamin E, another defense against free radicals, which helps strengthen your immune system.

Dark, leafy greens like spinach and arugula
These are rich in folic acid which reduces the number of free radicals in your body that damage the tissue in your inner ear.