Insufficient exposure to sunlight will cause deficiency of Vitamin D

Insufficient exposure to sunlight often causes Vitamin D deficiency. Apart from trying to spend some time under the sun, you can also include Vitamin rich foods in your diet like eggs, fatty fish, mushrooms and dairy products.

Nutritionists and agricultural scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg found that exposing chickens to ultraviolet (UV) light can increase Vitamin D in eggs. As written in journal Poultry Science, this method can be practiced right away in hen houses.

Role of Vitamin D

It plays numerous roles in the body. From helping you have healthy bones to reducing risk of diabetes and aiding healthy pregnancy, there are numerous health benefits of Vitamin D.

The sunshine vitamin is primarily synthesized in the body in the presence of sunlight and lack of spending sufficient time under the sun leads to its deficiency. It is because of this reason that researchers were looking for a way to increase the amount of Vitamin D in food.

Modes of acquiring Vitamin D

Exposing chickens to UV light can stimulate natural Vitamin D production in eggs. This can be done by using UV lamps in hen houses.

For the study, researchers conducted the experiment in two chicken farms. Comparisons were made between two different chicken breeds, assorted lamps and different duration of light exposure per day.

The vitamin content of newly laid eggs were constantly analysed. Alongside, researchers also analysed the impact of additional light on animals. Phys.org quotes researchers as saying that humans cannot see UV light but chickens can. Light influences behaviour and laying activity in chickens.

After only 3 weeks of exposure to UV light for 6 hours day, the vitamin content of eggs increased three to four times. Also, additional UV light was not found to cause any obvious problems for the hens.

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