The Inuit are Genetically Adapted to a High-Fat Diet, Study Says

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 height

A “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.

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.

To learn more about the diet of the Inuit and their traditional diet, watch the documentary “My Big Fat Diet” on the membership site.

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