Articles

Ali Bishop

Around 43% of Australians are taking supplements, many of them unnecessarily as, in most cases, it is possible to eat all the nutrients you really need. This is particularly true if you include some of the diverse and abundant range of native foods that has sustained the people of Australia for thousands of years. Not only is bush food tasty and versatile, but studies have shown that many of the traditional foods have a high nutrient content, providing all the the vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy diet.

Benefits of Natural Food

Supplements can have a place in certain diets and are useful for those deficient in iron or folic acid for example. However, it’s important to be certain that they only contain harmless and beneficial ingredients. In order to ensure purely organic nutrients in your diet, try eating more natural, native food. Indigenous plants include a range of essential vitamins and minerals, and are high in antioxidants. The native berry, Mountain Pepper, has four times the antioxidants of blueberries, so a sprinkling of this strong, earthy spice in your cooking can help fight the excess free radicals in the body that can lead to certains type of cancer and contribute to heart disease.

Vital Vitamins

Along with vitamins A and E, Vitamin C is also well-known as an antioxidant. As well as being a reliable source of energy and hydration, the Kakuda Plum contains 100 times more vitamin C than that of an orange. Vitamin C is useful in repairing body tissue and contributes to the skin’s ability to protect itself from harmful UV rays. Of course, staying out of the sun is the best way to avoid damaging the skin, but this has lead to a deficiency of vitamin D currently affecting one in four Australian adults. Mushrooms grown in sunlight are a good source of vitamin d2 and a serving of shrimp can provide 25% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.

Essential Minerals

Vitamin D is also necessary to help the body absorb calcium, which helps build and maintain strong, healthy bones. Calcium can be found in many native foods and is particularly rich in Lemon Myrtle and Australian Desert Lime. Bush Tomato and Wattleseed contain rich sources of iron, essential for transporting oxygen around the body, and they are also a good source of selenium, a micronutrient vital for many body functions.

Having a healthy, well-balanced diet is an easy way to meet all your body’s nutritional needs. Including tasty, natural foods found in the wild that have sustained people over thousands of years not only enhances your everyday cooking, but can provide all the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.