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        Bush Tucker and Vitamin D

        Curtin University, Telethon Kids Institute and Cancer Council WA are collaborating with Aboriginal Elders and communities in Perth and the Kimberley on a five-year project funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council to understand more about diet and sun exposure among Aboriginal people in Perth and the Kimberley.

        Vitamin D is obtained from sun exposure and diet. Surprisingly, in a mostly sunny country like Australia, vitamin D deficiency is a public health issue. Among Aboriginal people, nearly one in three adults are vitamin D deficient; this increases to two in five among Aboriginal adults living in remote regions.

        Vitamin D is essential for bone health, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

        Dr Lucinda Black, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at Curtin University is the Chief Investigator on the project.

        “Despite delays due to COVID-19, we have begun initial yarns with Elders in Perth and communities in the Kimberley (using web technology), to learn more about traditional diets and cooking methods, and sun exposure practices.

        We will work closely with rangers to collect bush tucker and measure these foods for vitamin D.

        “This will help us identify the best bush tucker sources of dietary vitamin D.

        “We will also identify ways in which Aboriginal people can make sure they have safe sun exposure to promote good vitamin D status,” Dr Black said.

        Based on community preferences, the project team will develop ways to promote sustainable consumption of bush tucker, traditional cooking methods, and safe sun exposure practices, to reduce vitamin D deficiency among Aboriginal people.

        Project summary and aims from ethics application

        AIMS This five-year project in Western Australia (WA) aims to promote vitamin D sufficiency among Aboriginal people by developing food-based dietary strategies to increase vitamin D intakes and by encouraging safe sun exposure. The project is a partnership with Aboriginal people from Perth and the Kimberley region. From inception to completion, the project will be governed by site/community appropriate Elder- and community-led processes, and will incorporate a novel, mixed methods design with an embedded Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework. These Elder- and community-led processes will ensure that the project: 1) is culturally appropriate in design and process; 2) meets the aims of the communities; 3) involves training for Aboriginal community members; and 4) incorporates culturally-appropriate education and dissemination of findings.

        Using Elder- and community-led processes, the specific aims of the project are to:

        1. Identify traditional and current knowledge and attitudes about diet and sun exposure;
        2. Collect samples of bush tucker and measure vitamin D content using pioneering methods;
        3. Compile a vitamin D composition database using internationally-standardised methods;
        4. Estimate intakes of vitamin D among Aboriginal people using national food consumption data;
        5. Determine optimal food fortification strategies for increasing vitamin D intakes among Aboriginal people; and,
        6. Disseminate findings on diet and safe sun exposure to promote vitamin D sufficiency.

        View the August 2022 Bush Tucker and Vitamin D community update report

        Our Investigators

        Brad Farrant

        BSc (Hons), PhD

        Co-Head, Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing

        Carol Michie

        Acting Co-Head of Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing

        08 6319 1780 Email me

        Shelley Gorman

        BSc (Hons) PhD

        Program Head, Diabetes and Obesity

        Email me

        Investigators

        Andrea.pngAndrea Begley

        Dr Andrea Begley is an advanced accredited practicing dietitian with a focus on public health nutrition. Andrea is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Population Health at Curtin University where she has worked since 1996. She has postgraduate teaching and research roles in the dietetics, honours and public health disciplines. Her research focuses on program evaluation in the areas of food literacy and behaviours related to achieving healthy diets, parent feeding practices, school education and obesity programs and quality standards. Her program evaluation represents over $4 million of Government investment. Andrea has expertise in using qualitative approaches to inform research and evaluation projects. In 2012, she was awarded as a Fellow of the Public Health Association of Australia in recognition of a significant contribution to the association and the field of public health and she achieved a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Authority in recognition of delivery of teaching and learning quality in 2019.

        Judy.pngJudy Cunningham

        Judy Cunningham is a former Australian government scientist with expertise in the development of food composition data, including for Australian and international food composition databases. Judy holds a Doctorate from the University of New South Wales.

        Tara.pngTara Rawson

        Tara Rawson is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Credentialled Diabetes Educator at Boab Health Services in the West Kimberley since 2017. Prior to joining Boab Health Services Tara worked as a dietitian in the Arnhem Land and Katherine in the Northern Territory. She studied her Bachelor in Nutrition and Dietetics at Flinders University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education at Deakin University.

        Tara works in remote and rural communities in the Kimberley and primarily focuses on the prevention of chronic disease. She has a special interest in Health at Every Size and non-diet approaches to health taking into account social determinates, equality and the cultural, social and psychological factors impacting behaviour and food choices.

        Lucinda.pngLucinda Black

        Dr Black is a nutritional epidemiologist with a particular interest in vitamin D, diet, and risk of onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). She is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Public Health, Curtin University, where she is building a research team that includes local, national, and international collaborators. In 2016, Dr Black was awarded a Curtin University Research Fellowship, and a Multiple Sclerosis Western Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate dietary risk factors for MS onset.

        She has since been awarded a 2019 MS Research Australia Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate diet and early disease progression in MS. She is CIA on two NHMRC-funded projects (2018-2020 Project Grant, $387k); 2020-2024 Ideas Grant, $1.76M) to investigate vitamin D deficiency in the general Australian and Aboriginal populations. Dr Black supervises a growing number of Master and doctoral students at Curtin University. She maintains a strong engagement with the MS community in Western Australia, giving regular community talks on diet and MS.

        Ellie.pngEllie Dunlop

        Eleanor (Ellie) Dunlop is a dietitian and final-year PhD student, focusing on food composition. She graduated from the Master of Dietetics course at Curtin University in 2017, receiving the Underwood Prize for Most Outstanding Student Dietitian. Her Master of Dietetics research projects provided preliminary data for two successful NHMRC applications to investigate dietary vitamin D in the general Australian (GNT1140611) and Aboriginal (GNT1140611) populations. Eleanor contributes to these projects as PhD student and research assistant, respectively.

        Dale.pngDale Tilbrook

        Aunty Dale is a Wardandi Bibbulmun woman whose traditional Aboriginal country is the Margaret River, Busselton area. Aunty Dale has been a Swan Valley local since 1998, when she opened the Maalinup Gallery with her brother Lyall, offering authentic Aboriginal art, gifts and souvenirs. The Experiences part of the business has steadily grown as customers seek more knowledge about Aboriginal culture and life. Having spent many years gathering knowledge from her Elders and other sources, Aunty Dale is often called on to talk about bush food, which she loves presenting and encouraging people to incorporate into their everyday cooking.

        Shelley.pngShelley Gorman

        Shelley Gorman is Group Leader of the Cardiometabolic Sunhealth team at the Telethon Kids Institute. Our team investigates mechanisms by which sunlight and ultraviolet light modulates metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, and immunity. We aim to improve our understanding of biological processes modulated by sun exposure, provide an evidence-base for research in humans and help health policy makers give better-informed sun exposure advice.

        The research of Cardiometabolic Sunhealth has identified that low dose sun exposure or induced mediators like vitamin D and nitric oxide could be used to treat obesity and associated cardiometabolic disorders such as type-2 diabetes. Our published findings have also provided evidence for clinical trials that test whether vitamin D supplementation, or controlled exposure to ultraviolet light, could prevent the progression of chronic diseases and autoimmunity.

        Noel.pngDr Noel Nannup

        Dr Noel Nannup OAM is a well-respected Nyoongar Elder. He is a known story teller and cultural guide, instructor and mentor. Throughout Noel’s life he has worked to promote public awareness of the importance of caring for the environment. His career has been dedicated to educating young Western Australians about the rich cultural heritage of Aboriginal people and their lands; and, throughout that process, Noel has played an active and leading role in reconciliation.

        Sally.png

        Sally Blane

        Sally is SunSmart Manager at Cancer Council WA. Sally oversees skin cancer prevention programs across WA, including programs for schools, early years, sports clubs, outdoor workers and tertiary students; mass media campaigns, and advocacy work. She has previously coordinated school nutrition programs at Cancer Council WA, and is a former generalist primary school teacher.