Five Common Nutritional Deficiencies in Australians and How to Fix Them Naturally

A Quick internet search on “Vitamin D deficiency Australia’ and you will see endless research and articles highlighting Vitamin D Deficiency as one of our most common nutrient deficiencies. According to the ABS, 1 in 5 Australians have a vitamin D deficiency. This may come as a surprise to some, given how hot our summers are and how much sun we do see here in Australia. This blog post will cover five common nutritional deficiencies seen in Australians, including vitamin d deficiency, and what we can do in our every day lives to boost levels naturally and safely.  

Five Common Nutritional Deficiencies in Australians

The five most common nutritional deficiencies we see in Australians are also some of the most important nutrients required for optimal health, including:

1. Vitamin D Deficiency
2. Iron Deficiency
3. Magnesium Deficiency
4. Calcium
5. Iodine

Why is Australia Seeing an Increase in Vitamin D Deficiency?

There is no single cause of the widespread vitamin and mineral deficiencies seen across Australia, rather, a snowball of contributors are resulting in low intake and absorbability across the population.

Vitamin D deficiency in Australians can be attributed largely to infrequent sun exposure and excessive sun safety measures. While sun safety is an important part of living in Australia, the excessive use of sunscreens with high SPF, full covers for the entirety of your time in the sun and indoor working environments play a large role.

Lifestyle Choices and Vitamin D Deficiency in Australia

Adding to the effects of excessive sun safety and indoor lifestyles/working environments, the western diet has limited sources of vitamin D foods. With a preference for fast, fried foods, foods rich in vitamin D like oily fish, eggs and vegetables like mushrooms are often replaced. These highly processed diets often result in obesity where Vitamin D can become trapped in adipose tissue (body fat tissue), reducing its availability in the blood.

Those with darker skin tones will also absorb less vitamin D from the sun making the requirements of sun exposure higher to reach optimal vitamin D levels.

Who is Most at Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency?

All Australians can experience vitamin D deficiency, however, those most at risk are:

• The elderly, particularly those in care.
• People with naturally dark skin.
• Obese people.

What Are The Contributors of Other Nutrient Deficiencies?

Deficiency of other minerals is linked to poor soil quality when growing fruit and vegetables, and western diets that are largely processed and fried. Fad diets also have a lot to answer for where deficiencies are concerned. These fads often restrict whole food groups. This may include dairy, animal meats, gluten containing products (that are often rich is other minerals). While these diets may hold some merit in supporting the health of some, unless appropriately executed with food combining and variety, deficiency is common.

Another important factor to consider is deficiencies cause by some medications. For example, iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamin B12 are commonly deficient in those who frequently use antacids. Other examples include, statins, which are known to reduce vitamin D and CoQ10 levels, diuretics deplete magnesium, potassium and zinc, while antibiotics and the oral contraceptive pill can reduce B vitamins.

While these medications may be important to the user’s health, replenishing depleted vitamins and minerals as well as appropriate spacing/timing of dosing is an important part reducing nutrient deficiency.

Further to medication implications, compromised absorption in conditions such as IBS, Crohn’s, coeliac, parasitic infections and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and other gut conditions reduce how much of each nutrient can be absorbed through the gut lining.

As you can see, Vitamin D deficiency is often multifactorial in nature, resulting from a combination of dietary, lifestyle and biological implications.

How to Fix Them Naturally

The good news is, you can improve your nutrient status naturally with the appropriate dietary intake and food combining techniques to maximise absorption. When diet alone is not cutting it, we will investigate how well you are digesting and absorbing nutrients and work on any issues in gut functionality to improve your uptake of nutrients. We may also support you with nutrient supplements to boost levels while working on the diet.

Iron Rich Foods

Iron plays an essential role in our bodies. It supports our immune system, helps us build healthy blood cells, transports oxygen in our blood, assists in energy production and release and has also been shown to reduce anxiety and depression in people with iron deficiency.

Those who are at most risk of iron deficiency include:

• young children who are fussy
• pregnant women
• babies born to an iron deficient mother
• vegetarians and vegans
• the elderly
• lower social demographic
• adolescent women
• people who are dieting on low kilojoule diets
• people with serious disease and infection
• people who have experienced high blood loss.

Iron can be found in a wide range of food, however the most well absorbed sources of iron come from red animal meats. These are called “heme” sources of iron and are taken up by the body more efficiently.

Heme Iron Sources Include:

• Beef
• Lamb
• Kangaroo
• Venison
• Liver
• Kidney
• Pate
• Chicken (thigh)
• Turkey
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Tuna
• Oysters

Although all contain some heme iron, levels vary.

Plant Sources of Iron

Plant sources are also available as “non-heme” sources of iron and must be accompanied by a vitamin C source for effective absorption.

Non-heme Iron Sources:

• Legumes and Pulses
• Dark leafy greens
• Tofu, Edamame & Tempeh
• Nuts & Seeds
• Quinoa
• Dark chocolate
• Dates

For some, despite including a wide variety of iron rich foods in their diet, it is difficult to reach optimal iron levels. This can have various reason such as digestion and absorption issues, iron transport issues and other factors. Speaking to an qualified health professional such as a Naturopath or Nutritionist to investigate and address these challenges is important.  

Symptoms of Low Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that is found in each and every cell of the body. It’s involved in over 300 internal reactions that help us to function at our best. You can read more about how important magnesium is in my blog post Magnesium: The Natural Mood Stabiliser and Stress Reliever.

Now that we’ve stressed the importance of this mineral, let’s look at those deficiency symptoms. Perhaps one of the most valuable overall role is magnesium support of the nervous system and brain functioning by regulating hormones known as neurotransmitters, deficiency can result in poor mood balance, depression and anxiety.

Other symptoms of deficiency include:

• Electrolyte imbalances
• Elevated blood pressure
• Headaches/migraine
• General body fatigue
• Poor blood glucose regulation
• PMS/Menopausal symptoms in women
• Poor sleep
• Brain fog/confusion
• Irritability
• Cramping/muscle twitches
• Poor recovery after exercise
• Restlessness
• Osteoporosis

Correcting nutrient deficiencies can be the difference between feeling on top of the world and completely checked out. In severe cases, it can be the difference between being sick and bedbound and living your life.