Atherosclerosis in 16th-Century Greenlandic Inuit Mummies


#1

It is generally believed that atherosclerosis is a disease of the modern man, however we’ve got evidence for atherosclerosis going back to 4000 BC, spanning 3 continents in a wide variation of climate and lifestyle.

And apparently the Inuit hunter-gatherer people living 500 years ago were not immune either, in spite of them eating a marine-based diet rich in Omega-3 that’s supposedly protective:

The study of mummies shouldn’t drive policy of course, but it does drive the point that ultra-processed food or carbs are not necessary for atherosclerosis :monkey:

And the idea that fish and blabber kept Eskimos healthy might be a myth, as the prevalence of CAD seems to be the same as in non-eskimo populations:

https://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(14)00237-2/abstract

See also:


(bulkbiker) #2

Seems to be quite a lot of debate around this topic especially on twitter.
Many point out that these Inuit lived in smoky homes and that (as we know) smoke inhalation contributes to heart disease so…
No-one seems to have wondered if the mummification process itself might be a contributor which seems odd.
But 4 mummies… I’m not changing my way of eating with that as evidence…


(Jack Bennett) #3

One hypothesis is indoor cooking fires in huts or igloos. Medical outcomes similar to smoking a whole lot of tobacco, due to the micro particles inhaled.


(Bob M) #4

Exactly. This fits with Malcolm Kendrick’s theory about protecting the endothelium and heart disease: anything that damages the endothelium causes heart disease.

This is why pollution and sickle cell disease cause higher heart disease.

If you want to look at mummies, try the Egyptians. They loved their grains and had high rates of bad teeth and heart disease.


(Jack Bennett) #5

All credit to Dr Kendrick for my comment. I definitely heard it from him.

(Think it was on Fat Emperor podcast.)


(Bob M) #6

@ajbennett Yeah, it makes me think I should wear a mask when I smoke my meat. There’s not much smoke I inhale, but there is some, as I can’t control the wind.

If you haven’t read Dr. Kendrick’s 50+ part series on heart disease, it’s worth reading. I believe that Kendrick’s “protect the endothelium” + Dave Feldman’s “energy model” + Something about LDL/other lipids providing immune functions (Siobhan Huggins?) = Lipid Nirvana. :wink:


#7

Indeed smoke might have caused it. Maybe other factors as well.

Studying mummies shouldn’t drive policy, as I said.

But it’s an interesting finding regardless, because we’ve got this narative that chronic diseases did not happen until modern times. Maybe these chronic diseases are now more common, but apparently we also found plenty of traces from ancient times.

This gives some credit to the idea that… maybe CVD is now more common because we live longer as we no longer die of infections or war.


#8

This is under ‘show me the science’…oh yea 4 mummies is all the science one needs to draw massive conclusions, or hey, maybe even 150 mummies. World wide population that covers LOL :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

Of course disease and cause etc was around long long long long ago. It has been and always will be when examined thru our history on this planet.

from environmental. to food sources that could be diseased before ingestion, thru plant fungus and disease if eaten and so much more. factors not even questioned at all to draw massive conclusions.

can’t go here LOL


(Bob M) #9

I think it is interesting.

It’s just hard to interpret and there’s a person (I’ll refer to as a crazy vegan, derogatorily, as if you are a high profile advocate of LCHF/carnivore, he spouts nonsense at you all the time, using studies ostensibly proving his point) who uses these types of studies to show that low carb/high fat causes atherosclerosis. But that cannot be true, as I’ve been low carb 6 years now and got a zero score in my CAC scan last year. Granted, I’m only an n=1 study, but there are plenty more like us.


(Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) #10

I think they found plenty of calcification in the Masai in the 60s too. The thing is: Virtually none of them died because of it. I think Mann reported on a lot of autopsies and among 200 dead people (or more?) there was only one death due to artherosclerosis, or something like that. Compared to a third of all deaths today in western civilizations.

Plaque itself seems to be only part of the problem. (Like Amyloid plaques in Alzheimers that is present in healthy people too, Alzheimers patients just seem to have a bit more.)


(Bob M) #11

They also found relatively high amounts of plaque in the Japanese, though the Japanese died (at the time) a lot less from CHD than did the Americans.

I think this is either from Malcolm Kendrick’s book or one of the many other books I’ve read on the subject.


(Jack Bennett) #12

Modern medical science has this issue of focusing on molecules and structures that can be manipulated with drugs.

Cholesterol? Statin!
Amyloid? Alzheimer’s medications! (Don’t know the specific names.)
Glucose? Metformin!

Systems and networks are often too complex for targeting with a single drug, but they keep trying, because you can’t patent a diet or fasting or exercise…


#13

I love that!


(Davy) #14

I’m sticking with the Japanese, not the mummies.


#15

HAHA LOL
you funny!

hey wait long enough and some expert will tell you the mummies talked ALL truths to them about what it was like back then…maybe we can find those elusive science studies on tablets they conducted and then we can put more leeway that way??? who knows LOL


(Davy) #16

edit: I’m sticking with the Japanese and Fangs, not the mummies.
Went to the doctor today to get my lipid panel done. Excited to see these numbers after being Keto/98%Carni for 4 weeks. May know results tomorrow.