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 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.
Eskimos have surely adapted to their environment over many generations and developed a genetic code as protein and fat types. You might want to check out 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 (it ain't pretty!)
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 manmade processed food 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.
I'm sure if you fed the native eskimos, Sardinians, Okinawans or any other long-lived and healthy population a typical Western diet of highly refined carbs, processed fats and processed foods, their health and longevity would quicly take a nosedive.
Perhaps it's 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 (lazy) lifestyle. Also remember, that when it comes to body fat reduction, it's all about the calories. You can get lean on a high fat, low carb diet, or a high carb, low fat diet, as long as there is a calorie deficit. The modern Western diet simply makes it far easier to consume an excess of calories.
Getting back to the fish and whale blubber question... marine sources of fat, including whale blubber and all kinds of fatty fish, seem to have a great cardio protective effect, even in a diet high in saturated fat. Omega 3's are the very important biologically active essential fatty acids and many people eating a modern, Western diet are deficient in these important nutrients.
Many people could stand to increase their omega 3 intake overall and or their ratio of omega 3 to 6 in favor of more omega 3. Eating fatty fish like salmon at least 2X per week, or taking a fish oil supplement are easy ways to accomplish this. 2-3 grams of combined EPA/DHA seems to be optimal for most purposes, including supporting a fat loss program.
Although you don’t have to run out looking for whale blubber to eat, increasing your fish intake - especially fatty fish such as Salmon - is a great idea. And while you're at it, don’t forget the exercise! Combining nutrition and training is always the superior way to improve your body composition.
Train hard and expect success!
Tom Venuto, Fat Loss Coach
PS. If you'd like even more information, consider becoming a member of our inner circle. I exhaustively research and meticulously write up my findings in as much detail and with more objective coverage (no sales pitch) than you will find anywhere on or off the web. We have a wealth of information on fish, fish oils, essential fatty acids, and essential fatty acid supplements. For example, this is just some of the info in our member's area:
Udo's oil - includes flaxseed oil review
www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/358.cfm
Udos oil and flax oil discussion
www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=28&ThreadID=5085
Consumer lab report on flaxseed
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=28&ThreadID=5911
Fish oil and omega 3 - FULL research report (ebook)
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/programs/fileinfo.cfm?ID=39&action=Display
Fish oil discussion thread
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=28&ThreadID=4999
Fish oil - choosing brands forum and fish versus flax thread
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=28&ThreadID=5039
Consumer lab report on fish oil June 2008 - including test results
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=28&ThreadID=7722
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. Tom has written hundreds of articles and has been featured in IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. Tom is also the founder and CEO of the Internet's premier fat loss support community, the: Burn The Fat Inner Circle. To get notified of updates to TomVenuto.Com, subscribe to the free newsletter at: www.TomVenuto.com/free_newsletter.
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