inuit diet page

[solstice]

Has anyone relied on more of an Inuit diet of only fatty meats? this is an interesting idea to me. My hubby's uncle married an Inuit---they are native and still allowed to hunt whales. Their village will feed/feast on whale blubber after a kill. One thing I've noticed is the amazing skin on these people! Cousin is half Inuit and her skin just glows. She admits they eat a lot of fatty fish.

[JoanieL]

I certainly don't live an active enough lifestyle to go that way!

I've also discovered that though I try not to, I still push chicken skin and the fat on chops, steaks, etc. to the edge of the plate. I just don't like the taste. I get plenty of fat though.

And, if I ever took part in a whale hunt, I'd most certainly try some of that blubber!

[breadsauce]

Has anyone relied on more of an Inuit diet of only fatty meats? this is an interesting idea to me. My hubby's uncle married an Inuit---they are native and still allowed to hunt whales. Their village will feed/feast on whale blubber after a kill. One thing I've noticed is the amazing skin on these people! Cousin is half Inuit and her skin just glows. She admits they eat a lot of fatty fish.

DO they eat the blubber cooked or raw? I'm quite sure I'd gag on raw blubber....

[Legbiter]

I eat whale meat a few times a month and sometimes I'll nibble on some whale blubber. It's been pickled in whey and is IMO a great snack. Of course I grew up on it as a kid so to me it's always been just another good food to eat.

And the blubber is best raw, I tried muqtuq in Greenland and it was ok. Great comfort food during winter and has decent amounts of C vitamin in it.

[noodletoy]

it's not just the blubber, but all the innards they eat as well.

[Owly]

You have to eat more than just fatty meats. You need to eat all parts of the animal, including fat, skin, organs, and brains, and Inuit people do eat kelp and some plant foods when they are available seasonally. Also, Inuit people have some physiological adaptations that may help them thrive more on a minimal carbohydrate diet--they have larger livers, for example.

I think you can thrive on an Inuit diet, but you actually have to eat like Inuit people, not just buy fatty meat and think that's adequate to supply your needs.

[Owly]

Good article here:

The Inuit Paradox | Nutrition | DISCOVER Magazine

[solstice]

cool thanks! Unfortunately most of the villages have been influenced enough by our SAD----alcoholism is rampant and crappy foods are more available.

There was another delicacy called Stinkhead, where they bury these fish heads...let them sit for awhile (not sure of timeframe) and then dig up and eat them "raw."

[Lewis]

Has anyone relied on more of an Inuit diet of only fatty meats?

Yeah, famously, the anthropologist and explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Someone's put a short book of his online:

http://highsteaks.com/the-fat-of-the...stefansson.pdf

There's also an old magazine article of his here:

Stefansson 1 - Eskimos Prove An All Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health.

I doubt there are many groups doing that today. There's the Evenk in Siberia. Probably that's about it. I think most of the Inuit have been eating quite largely of modern commerical food for a good eighty years now.

[ChocoTaco369]

It's best to err on the side of caution with these things. Just because 500g of carbohydrate from sugar, wheat and oats every day is bad for us doesn't mean real food carbohydrate is bad in realistic quantities. The Inuit diet is an extreme diet. To adopt this method of thinking, why not go the Kitivan way and adopt a diet of 80% starch with very little fat or protein? They're just as healthy as the Inuit. One may say they're even healthier as they'd be able to run circles around the Inuit. Literally. They smoke like chimneys and seem to be unable to contract cancer, even with a diet comprised almost entirely of carbs.

A whole foods diet is really all that matters. If you like fruit and sweet potatoes, eat them. As long as you're not overeating calories, it won't make you fat. The balanced approach IMO is the best way to go - eat fat, protein and carbs. Just pick whole, natural sources. Cutting out a macronutrient, be it fat, carbs or protein, will likely lead to a terrible binge or a metabolic slowdown. The Inuit diet exists because they had no other choice - they couldn't go Rosie O'Donnell on a birthday cake from Safeway if they wanted to. We're not so lucky. Enjoy real food and realize apples won't make you fatter than steak. If potatoes make you overeat, don't eat them. If a sweet potato fills you up for hours, provides stable energy and you enjoy them, then make it a regular part of your diet.

Besides, who wants to eat all that liver, brain, heart and tripe anyway?