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I took a look at the Inuits, e.g. Hunters/gatherers. It seems that for decades science advanced the conclusion that despite a high animal fat, high protein, and low carb diet, their levels of heart disease were lower than those of their North American neighbors who pursued the Western lifestyle. It was said that the Inuits were bound to adhere to the lifestyle of their ancestors in order to survive their climate. They were protected.
Then came the studies. Some showed that their rates of heart and other degenerative diseases were indeed less than those of their neighbors to the south. But others showed that their rates of these diseases were only slightly less. Still others showed the disease rates to be the same, even for those who consumed the traditional Inuit diet without processed foods.
Then there were studies on the diets themselves, some of which concluded that their complex carbohydrate intake was higher than previously indicated from their "gatherings" of vegetaion. One study even concluded that they obtained sufficient carbohydrate intake from the high levels of glycogen found in the types of animal flesh they consume.
It appears that geneticists disagree as to the extent of protection provided by "healthy genes" when certain environmental factors are introduced, e.g., lifestyle. They can't or won't get their act together for whatever reasons. So while it's interesting to hear the opinions of laypeople, I can't necessarily accept them at face value.
Scientific conclusions change as new data becomes available. That is part of the scientific method and is actually desirable.
Adopting the traditional Inuit diet probably will not help you if you are not Inuit:
"The study, which appears in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal Science, shows that the Inuit and their Siberian ancestors have special mutations in genes involved in fat metabolism. The mutations help them partly counteract the effects of a diet high in marine mammal fat, mostly from seals and whales that eat fish with high levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids."
The genes that are protective for the Inuit on the traditional diet are probably not protective on a Western diet with high sugar intake:
Then you have the issue of physical activity. Those on the traditional diet have to do the hunting and preparation of the meat. They work long, hard hours to do that.
Certainly there is interplay between genetics, diet, and exercise. However, changing your personal diet is not going to change your personal genes. Genetic change in response to lifestyle will take tens of thousands of years and happens at the population level, not the individual level. What is more likely to happen is interbreeding outside the Inuit community and acquisition of Western genetic traits. Those mutations in genes involved in fat metabolism may be lost.
"The study, which appears in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal Science, shows that the Inuit and their Siberian ancestors have special mutations in genes involved in fat metabolism. The mutations help them partly counteract the effects of a diet high in marine mammal fat, mostly from seals and whales that eat fish with high levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids."
The genes that are protective for the Inuit on the traditional diet are probably not protective on a Western diet with high sugar intake:
Then you have the issue of physical activity. Those on the traditional diet have to do the hunting and preparation of the meat. They work long, hard hours to do that.
Certainly there is interplay between genetics, diet, and exercise. However, changing your personal diet is not going to change your personal genes. Genetic change in response to lifestyle will take tens of thousands of years and happens at the population level, not the individual level. What is more likely to happen is interbreeding outside the Inuit community and acquisition of Western genetic traits. Those mutations in genes involved in fat metabolism may be lost.
In addition to the bias displayed among experts regarding impact of lifestyle in the Inuit projects, there was the plan to study the effects of recent tobacco use in certain heart-healthy Japanese island populations. Apparently that never got off the ground due to infighting and lack of cooperation between the experts on both sides.
Don't forget the relationship between fat and cold. Fat is preferentially burned in BAT. CD36 can tell us a lot. It's a membrane protein involved in fatty acid uptake, so it can be burned. Its expression is up-regulated in the cold, regardless of genetics. It's also found in your tongue as a taste receptor, helping you crave fat. There's a reason why Inuits eat blubber and Sherpas guzzle down the *** butter tea.
What I try to tell people is, match your diet to your environment! Or move. How do we do that? Go outside, and eat the things outside. Do you see a whole lot of fat or sugar when you step outside your Alaskan winter door? How about your sunny equatorial door?
Back to the topic, we have to realize the root of the problem. Not cholesterol, not fat (they'll be coursing through your veins no matter what), but the plaque it forms under certain conditions.
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