Why cholesterol is not dangerous for residents of the Far North

One of the principles of proper nutrition, which all progressive humanity seeks to follow, states that as many fresh vegetables and fruits as possible should be present in the diet, and fatty and meat foods should not be abused. It turns out that this rule is not for everyone. There are people on our planet for whom the daily consumption of fatty meat food for breakfast, lunch and dinner is simply necessary to maintain good health and performance. It will be about the northern peoples, which over the millennia of life and evolution in the most difficult natural conditions have acquired interesting features that significantly distinguish them from the rest of the world's population.

In the human body there are genes that are responsible for the assimilation of various foods. The complex biochemical process of digesting and assimilating foods high in fat is called lipid metabolism. One of the most important participants in this process is the apolipoprotein E gene (abbreviated APOE). He is responsible for regulating blood cholesterol. Cholesterol, contained in large quantities in fatty meat, fish, fatty dairy products, has been declared the number one enemy for the cardiovascular system in the modern world. Nutritionists advise limiting its use, especially to the elderly. But, as genetics found out, this rule does not apply to everyone. Scientists compared the presence of the APOE gene, or rather one of its components - the e4 allele, associated with the regulation of cholesterol, in the peoples of the subtropical zone and in northern ethnic groups. It turned out that among Finns, Sami, Komi, Chukchi, Eskimos, Khanty and Nenets this allele is found in 20% of cases, while in the southern peoples this indicator does not exceed 5-7%. The basis of the northern peoples ’diet is animal meat and fish. But at the same time, the cholesterol content in the blood of these peoples is much lower than that of Europeans who consume significantly less meat food. According to scientists, this difference is due to the genetic characteristics of northerners, as well as their lifestyle. The fact is that during a long evolution in the conditions of cold, these peoples developed mechanisms for the assimilation of large volumes of animal food without harm to health. Indeed, in the northern latitudes, where the choice of plant foods is limited to berries, nuts and some herbs, the basis of people's nutrition is the meat of wild and domestic animals, as well as oily northern fish. These foods make up 90% of the total diet. In order to warm their body and provide energy for hard physical labor, northern people need to consume more calories, and this is the norm for them. It turns out that during the evolution of these peoples the peculiarity of digesting and assimilating a large amount of animal food was genetically entrenched, and cholesterol does not threaten their physical health.