Category: Indigenous health

While European explorers succumbed to scurvy on long voyages, indigenous populations thrived for centuries, baffling onlookers with their robust health. The answer lies in how did natives get vitamin C, which was through a profound understanding of their local environment and food sources, far beyond what any citrus-loving sailor could imagine.

For millennia, Inuit have thrived in the Arctic on a diet primarily composed of hunted animals, a feat that has puzzled many outsiders. The answer to how do Inuit get nutrients reveals a deep understanding of animal anatomy and a reliance on specific preparation methods, such as consuming meat raw or frozen, to access vital vitamins often lost in cooking.

Historically, Native American and Alaska Native people had low rates of obesity and diabetes, a stark contrast to current health trends. This shift highlights why understanding what is the best diet for Native Americans today is crucial for addressing systemic health disparities and promoting wellness through cultural reclamation.

Approximately 65% of adults worldwide are lactose intolerant, a condition resulting from the body's inability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk. This percentage is significantly higher among many Native American populations, a fact rooted in a deep evolutionary history without dairy farming.

Research indicates that over 80% of some Alaskan Inuit and Native American populations were found to be unable to tolerate lactose. This high prevalence answers the question, are Inuit lactose intolerant?, and is linked to their genetic heritage and a traditional diet that historically contained no dairy products.

Research indicates that the traditional Inuit diet provides a rich source of vitamin D, allowing indigenous Arctic communities to maintain adequate levels despite living in regions with minimal sun. This nutritional strategy is a primary way that Inuit get vitamin D, supplemented by unique physiological traits that enhance nutrient utilization.

Despite the persistent myth of a carbohydrate-free existence, traditional Inuit diets did contain fiber, sourced from both land and sea. Understanding how Inuits get fiber requires looking beyond Western dietary norms to their ingenious use of native plants and the contents of the animals they hunted.

For centuries, European explorers in the Arctic suffered from scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, while Inuit peoples subsisted on a traditional, nearly plant-free diet and remained healthy. The answer to **how do Inuits get their vitamin C?** lies in their unique dietary practices, which involve consuming specific animal parts raw and frozen to preserve vital nutrients. This remarkable dietary adaptation provides a fascinating lesson in nutrient acquisition far from conventional fruit and vegetable sources.