Page 11 - National Poultry Newspaper

Eggs boost vitamin D intake for a healthy immune system
RESEARCH reveals that 23 percent of Aus- tralians are vitamin D deficient and this in- creases to 36 percent at the end of winter.
taining a strong immune system and healthy body.
ever that is not always safe or possible and therefore food sources of vitamin D become very important.”
ping up an omelette or eggs on toast, you could be keeping your body healthy,” Dr McMillan said.
It’s suggested that this is due to several lifestyle factors, including preva- lence of indoor jobs, increased office hours and increased time ‘on screens’ inside.
Nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan said that given the current health climate, colder temperatures and change in daylight sav- ings, it is now more im- portant than ever to en- sure vitamin D levels are not declining.
There are several inex- pensive, versatile foods that can help boost vita- min D intake, and most can be very easily incor- porated into weekly meal planning.
“It’s also great to in- clude an oily fish meal a few times a week such as salmon or mackerel, enjoy a small amount of liver pate on toast, and look for a vitamin D enriched milk.”
With Australians cur- rently spending more time indoors than ever before, receiving adequate vita- min D is vital for main-
“We need adequate lev- els of vitamin D to have a balanced, healthy im- mune system,” Dr McMil- lan said.
To boost intake, eggs are one of the highest natural sources of vitamin D – one serve provides 82 per- cent of the recommended daily intake for adults.
Vitamin D, nicknamed the ‘sunshine vitamin’, is essential to absorb cal- cium that is required for strong bones and healthy teeth.
“Exposing your skin to the sun for short periods boosts vitamin D, how-
“By having two eggs a day, whether this be whip-
It is also involved in the regulation of certain hormones and the main- tenance of a healthy nerv- ous and immune system.
Australia’s food supply guaranteed
A NEW report has affirmed Australia’s credentials as one of the world’s most food secure nations, with our farmers produc- ing substantially more food than Australians consume, even during drought years.
Simson said. “However, as finely
provided a level of choice to shoppers.
The latest Insights re- port by the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Econom- ics and Science details that almost 89 percent of the food Australians enjoy is grown right here.
According to the lat- est figures, 70 percent of Australia’s total ag- ricultural production is exported for the world to enjoy.
“Australians can take pride in the high qual- ity, safe, plentiful pro- duce our farmers pro- vide and which is vital to our everyday wellbe- ing.”
National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Austral- ians are understandably focussed on keeping themselves and their families well and key to that is a plentiful, nutri- tious diet.”
“Overall, each and every year farmers pro- vide significantly more than our nation can consume.”
“In these uncertain times, we want to Aus- tralians to know that farmers are on the job.
“For products such as red meat and wheat, for example, the majority of annual production goes to export,” she said.
“Working from home, as they always do, con- tinuing to produce in high volumes the milk, eggs, red meat, poultry, pork, grains, fruit, veg- etables and other sta- ples Australians depend on.”
“Whereas for horti- culture, pork and poul- try, the focus is domes- tic markets.”
The report also con- firmed that sometimes- bare supermarket shelves were not a sign of a shortage of food, but rather a symptom of COVID-19 panic buy- ing.
“Domestic demand re- mains relatively stable and export markets are able to accommodate the production fluctua- tion that comes from operating in the highly variable Australian farmingenvironment.”
“From paddock to plate, our nation’s food supply chain is a well- oiled machine,” Ms
Ms Simson said as a proud multicultural community with global tastes, Australia’s im- port of speciality goods
tuned as it is, the sys- tem needed some time to adjust to the unfortu- nate over-zealous buy- ing of some consum- ers – a situation that has been experienced across the world.”
“However, this report provides evidence that across our nation to- night and every night into the future most families will be sitting down to a dinner of pri- marily Australian pro- duce,” she said.
Only 11 percent is im- ported, 1.6 percent of that is fresh produce and the remainder, non- perishable goods.
“This is true even dur- ing drought years like those most recently ex- perienced,” Ms Simson said..
Ms Simson said the end destination for each commodity varied.
Ms Simson said the report’s key take away was that the provision of fresh produce to Australians would al- ways be guaranteed.
Low vitamin D is known to impact immune func- tion, bone health and in- crease the risk of chronic disease or infection of the respiratory tract.
The top five benefits of vitamin D are strong bones and teeth; hormone regulation; maintenance of a healthy nervous sys- tem; boosting immunity; and supporting a healthy pregnancy.
For more information, visit australianeggs.org. au/nutrition/
www.poultrynews.com.au
National Poultry Newspaper, May 2020 – Page 11