Greenland Eskimos

K17. Klausen, I. C., Gerdes, L. U., Berg Schmidt, E., Dyerberg, J., and Faergeman, O., Differences in apolipoprotein(a) polymorphism in West Greenland Eskimos and Caucasian Danes. Hum. Genet. 89, 384-388 (1992). 

Sixty to eighty-five percent of the fatty acids in fishery products are either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Polyunsaturated fats have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels and the same phenomenon exists for fish oils. Epidemiological studies of the Greenland Eskimos show their diet to be high in marine oils and the populaticxi has correspcMidingly low serum cholesterol values (6) (7). 

Interest in w-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids initially was prompted by observations that Greenland Eskimos experienced a significantly lower incidence of death from ischemic heart disease than Western populations. Results of subsequent studies indicated that this alleged or potential health benefit and other physiological effects were due to a diet high in marine oils containing esterifed w-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). 

Now, does this work There are some intriguing statistics to support this While in western countries 40% of all deaths are due to atherosclerosis (in which both inflammation and thrombocyte aggregation are important), this number stands at 7% among Greenland eskimos and at 12% in Japan both countries have more fish and less meat in their diets. However, it should go without saying that we cannot precisely gauge the contribution of EPA and related fatty acids to this remarkable statistics. 

Dyeibeig J, BangHO, andHjomeN. (1975). Fatty acid composition of the plasma lipids in Greenland Eskimos. Am. J. Clm Nutr. 28,958-966. 

Wulf HC, Kromann N, Kousgaard N, et al. 1986. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in Greenlandic Eskimos Dose-response relationship between SCE and seal diet, smoking, and blood cadmium and mercury concentrations. Sci Total Environ 48 81-94. 

Europe and United States Japan Greenland Eskimos... 

This was the case in the Western Hemisphere, as well as in the East. Prior to contact with Europeans, meteoric iron was used by cultures in the Americas, such as the Greenland Eskimos, Mayas, and Aztecs, who had not developed tool-making from iron ore (ibid.). 

Several studies have shown the protective role of dietary (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) against cardiovascular diseases [56-57]. Greenland Eskimos and, to a lesser extent, some Japanese, with high dietary intake of (n-3) PUFA from seafood, have a low incidence of cardiovascular diseases compared with Western populations [58]. 

Bang HO, Dyerberg J (1980) Lipid metabolism and ischemic heart disease in Greenland Eskimos. In Draper HH (ed) Advanced nutrition research, vol 3. Plenum, New York, pp 1-22... 

Comparing lipid and lipoprotein levels of Greenland Eskimos and Danes, Dyerberg and Bang [2] found significantly lower LDL and VLDL concentrations in Eskimos, leading to drastically lower triglyceride and total plasma cholesterol concentrations. The HDL levels were about the same. 

Greenland Eskimos. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 28(9), 958-66. 

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