# Do The eskimos and Masai people get heart Disease? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026 "2002-09-21T20:36:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/1 "2002-09-21T20:36:01Z")
Heart disease has been called the disease of affluence-supposedly the rich western diode (meat and animal fats heavy) causes excess production of cholesterol, which gets deposited in the arteries, clogging them and causing death. Yet, some doctors (like Dr. Atkins of diet fame) are not convinced that this is so-Atkins for one claims that his hightr protein, high fat diet actually LOWERS surem cholesterol! Also, our ancestors ate much more fat than we do. My question is: has anybody studied the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Masai as far as heart disease? (1) The Inuit (until modern times) ate a diet largely composed of meat and fat. indeed, whale blubber (fat) is a favorite food. Yet, no explorer I’ve ever read has written anything about these people dying of heart attacks! (2) the masai tribe of Kenya are cattle herders and hunters. As far as I read, they subsist on milk and the blood of their cattle-they very rarely kill and eat their cattle. They also seem to have escaped heart dideas. So, anybody know if these people suffer from western ills? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/2 "2002-09-21T20:53:09Z")
Perhaps not so anymore for the Eskimos. From [CHOLESTEROL AND YOUR HEART](http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/Cholesterol.htm): > [@](#): > > Before Western eating habits were introduced into the Eskimo population, they lived almost exclusively on animal meat and fat. Yet the incidence of heart disease was very low and cholesterol levels were below 200 mg (7). Similar results were found in studies in the Soviet Union, India, and elsewhere (8,9). And a mention of the Masai and a further hint that the Eskimo absence of heart disease is a past situation from [What Causes Heart Disease?](http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/hd.html): > [@](#): > > The Masai, with 60 percent of their calories from fat, are free of heart disease. The traditional diet of the Eskimo and the North American Indians contained as much as 80 percent of calories as fat and there is no indication that they suffered from heart disease. There’s a ton of info out there; go to [Google](http://www.google.com) and search for “Eskimo Masai heart disease.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/3 "2002-09-21T21:30:10Z")
Keep in mind the shorter life spans before modern medicine. If everyone died of infectious disease before age fifty in the West, I am sure the incidence of heart disease would go down. FWIW. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/4 "2002-09-21T22:37:54Z")
What **Shodan** said. Also keep in mind that these ethnic groups had quite active lifestyles as hunter/gatherers. Mix a high fat diet with a lack of activity, and there’s your ticket to heart disease ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/5 "2002-09-22T12:22:14Z")
Re: infections - prior to contact with the wider world, the Inuit suffered from a very LOW rate of infectious diseases. That’s partly because they did not live in concentrated groups, partly because of the climate, and partly because death from accidents, starvation, and cold were so much more common. The hunter/gather lifestyle of the Inuit in the artic climate could require up to 6,000 calories _per day_ in order to maintain bodyweight. In which case, yes, you have to eat a lot of fat. With the arrival of internal combustion engines for snowmobiles and airplanes, which takes a lot of effort of out getting around, guns instead of harpoons and spears, and central heating in the houses, Inuit probably do not require as many calories as they used to, but if their eating habits haven’t changed that could lead to problems. It’s not fat in and of itself that causes the problems - it’s _excessive_ fat intake or excessive calories. If you’re “burning off” the calories and fat with physical activity there is not a problem (except for one or two freaky genetic disorders). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/6 "2002-09-22T13:25:30Z")
The traditional Inuit’s high consumption of marine foods rich in n-3 fatty acids might be the reason for low incidence of cardiovascular disease. From the [abstract](http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/4/464?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&titleabstract=inuit&searchid=1032700056502_1447&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=ajcn) of: “n-3 Fatty acids and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the Inuit of Nunavik” by Eric Dewailly, Carole Blanchet, Simone Lemieux, Louise Sauvé,Suzanne Gingras, Pierre Ayotte and Bruce John Holub: > [@](#): > > Consumption of marine products, the main source of EPA and DHA, appears to beneficially affect some cardiovascular disease risk factors. The traditional Inuit diet, which is rich in n-3 fatty acids, is probably responsible for the low mortality rate from ischemic heart disease in this population. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/7 "2002-09-22T13:28:58Z")
The typical eskimo diet includes a significant amount of fish and other marine life. This type of food usually includes a thing called “omega-3” which in medical studies has been shown to reduce cholesterol. So in additional to their physical life style, that seems to be the reason of unexpectedly low rates of heart disease. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/8 "2002-09-22T15:23:40Z")
From one of Ringo’s cites: > [@](#): > > Although research on trans fatty acids found in hydrogenated fats has not received much publicity, it adds up to a strong case for the theory that these manufactured fats contribute to heart disease.28 The tragedy is that those who are trying to avoid saturated fats and cholesterol will probably eat more trans fatty acids, because these are used in foods promoted as low in saturated fat and cholesterol. IMHO, it’s trans fats that’s the culprit, not sat fats. Aahala, omega-3 fats are what Muffin’s cite refers to as “n-3.” Polyunsaturated fats are of two kinds, omega-6 and omega-3, the former having two unbonded hydrogen molecules, the latter having three, IIRC. Both are good fats and necessary, in the right proportion. In addition, there are three kinds of omega’3s. Leafy greens and some vegetable oils (such as walnut, flaxseed, and canola) contain only the short-chain omega-3 linolenic acid, not the longer-chain fatty acids found in fish oils. Fish are able to convert the linolenic acid in algae and other sea plants into eicosapentenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexenoic acid (DHA). ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/9 "2002-09-22T15:38:37Z")
The key word used by **Muffin** above is ‘The Traditional Inuit’. I do not know any ‘traditional’ Inuit. Most Inuit people could not hunt without a gun and snowmobile now, and it’s a sad thing to see. As for whale blubber - this is called ‘muqtuq’ even among the qallunaq (white people) and it’s delicious when deep fried. Or at least, so I’m told. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/10 "2002-09-22T16:41:17Z")
Traditional in terms of what type of food is consumed, not how food is obtained. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/11 "2002-09-22T16:49:51Z")
Ahh. Okay. I know a lot of those, then. However, the North has changed a lot, and you will not find many solely traditional country-food eaters. There is a very high instance of Diabetes among the aboriginal populations, Native and Inuit both, and this has only happened since the Southerners have moved north. The belief is that it is linked to diet. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-eskimos-and-masai-people-get-heart-disease/129026/12 "2002-09-22T16:58:53Z")
Yes. For example, my uncle (non-Innuit) raised his family on Baffin Island in the 50s and 60s. They ate what they could kill, along with food supplements that were shipped in. One of his kids is now married to a fellow (also non-Innuit) who works on Ellesmere Island. He has food shipped in, supplemented with what he kills. That’s a huge difference in only a few decades, going from eating primarily food “traditional” for the area, to eating food primarily imported into the area.