Q: Dear Tom: I really enjoy your articles and the frankness with which they are written -very refreshing. I have been able to draw much inspiration from you and my level of understanding what it is I am trying to attain and how I am meant to do it has improved ten fold.
My question comes out of pure curiosity. Here I am fighting the fat fight every day and then you have the guys who live in the polar regions who have little to no access to green vegetables. In fact they live off seal andwhale meat/blubber. Yuk but awesome!
a) Is it true that they have longest longevity of all us earthlings?
b) Why do you reckon that is?
Phyllis
Zimbabwe
A: Last time I did any research on this subject, it was the Okinawans and Sardinians who had the claim to the greatest longevity, not the eskimos. Interestingly though, the okinawans – like the eskimos – also eat a great deal of fish (and yes, eskimos do (or did, in their traditional diet) eat whale blubber), and they not only seem to suffer no health consequences, but are healthier than most people on a typical “Western” or “Americanized” diet
Fish seems to have a great cardio protective effect and fish oil is the darling supplement of the natural health as well as the fitness communities today.
Eskimos have surely adapted to their environment over many generations and developed a genetic code as protein and fat types (William Wolcott’s “Metabolic Typing Diet” for more information on this… Weston Price’s “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” is also an interesting read on the subject and chapter 5 even includes a discussion of “Isolated and Modern Eskimos” and explains what happens when modern food is introduced to native populations).
This also makes a case for the idea that saturated fat and cholesterol alone may not be the “evils” that they have been said to be…and that it is man made processed food that is really the problem, and perhaps not eating right for your particular body type, genotype, genetic code, metabolic type, “constitution” or whatever you want to call it (“metabolic type” as in the popular diet books is controversial, but clearly heredity may influence what a person’s optimal diet may be).
I’m sure if you fed the native eskimos, Sardinians, Okinawans or any other long lived and healthy population a typical western diet of high carbs, processed fats and refined foods, their health and longevity would quicly take a nosedive
Perhaps its not a “fight against fat” we should be engaging in but rather a fight against refined, processed, packaged modern “convenience” foods and a modern sedentary lifestyle.
Although you don’t have to run out looking for whale blubber, increasing your fish intake- especially fatty fish such as Salmon – is a great idea
And hey – don’t forget the exercise!
Good points, Tom.You said, “I’m sure if you fed the native eskimos, sardinians, okinawans or any other long lived and healthy population a typical western diet of high carbs, processed fats and refined foods their health and longevity would quickly take a nosedive.”Not only that, but if you took a typical western couch potato and fed him whale blubber, his health would probably ALSO take a nosedive. As you pointed out, relatively isolated populations have adapted to the diet that is available in their corner of the globe; those that did not thrive on it died off! The result is a genetically similar group of people who respond well to that particular diet.Even the Mediterranean Diet is not optimal for all people, at all times and places. Nutrition needs to be personalized, customized and sane.Who said that? Oh, now I remember. It was Tom Venuto!