Seal Hunter (Photo : Reuters)
The Mediterranean diet is considered very healthy due to its olive oil, fruits and vegetables, and fish, resulting in low risks of heart attacks. A new study theorizes that the Arctic's high-fat omega-3 Inuit diet that includes seafood such as seals or whales triggered gene mutations, causing low rates of diabetes and heart disease.
The study was published September 17, Thursday, in the journal Science and was conducted by the University of California, Berkley. It examined genetic differences between Inuit, Europeans, and ethnic Chinese.
Researchers previously believed that the Arctic animals' meat's and blubber's omega-3 fatty acids protected their consumers. However, new research done on Inuit in Greenland seems to disprove that theory.
The study's findings suggest the Arctic people's genes evolved a certain way. It allows them to eat more fat than most other ethnic groups.
Researchers discovered a critical group of genes. They control how much omega-3 and omega-6 a person's body produces naturally.
Biologist Rasmus Nielsen was the lead researcher. He explained that almost all of the Inuit in the study had gene variations that could slow down the body's production of omega fatty acids, according to NPR.
The genes also seem to help lower "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease. It also resulted in lower blood sugar levels, which decreases the risk of diabetes.
In addition, the gene mutations lowered the Inuit's height by almost an inch (2 centimeters). This could be due to fatty acids affecting growth hormones, according to Phys.org.
Just 15 percent of Chinese and 3 percent of Europeans had those gene biomarkers.
Nielsen's hypothesis is that the group of genes helped the Inuit's ancestors survive the North Pole's frigid temperatures. This allowed them to live on a diet containing mostly fat and protein.
