Is a strict low-carb diet super healthy for everyone? People who argue for this often bring up the Inuit people. However, this particular argument has never been a very strong. And now it got even weaker.
According to a study released in Science yesterday, the Inuit are especially well adapted to eat a high-fat diet. The Inuit, who have lived in the extreme conditions of the Arctic for a long time, seem to have developed genes that make them especially well suited to eat large amounts of omega-3 fat.
MedicalXpress.com: Adaptation to high-fat diet, cold had profound effect on Inuit, including shorter heightA "shorter height" is of course an excellent adaptation to a cold climate as it decreases the surface area of the body, thus reducing heat loss.
We're all slightly different
This piece of news is a good reminder that genetical adaptations to extreme circumstances starts out right away. While it may take hundreds of thousands of years for humans to completely adapt to a new environment, the first genetic drift (that does not require new mutations) gets going instantly.
This also means that the diet that the Inuit stay most healthy on is not necessarily the best diet for everyone on the planet. Obviously all humans are pretty similar genetically, but we are not exactly the same.
Another example: Even though insulin-resistant people (like people with obesity or type 2 diabetes) usually do best on a strict low-carb diet it does not mean everybody on the planet needs it to stay healthy.
More
For more on about the traditional diet in very northern climates - and the effect of the introduction of new Western diets - watch the documentary "My Big Fat Diet" on the membership site.
