[HN Gopher] Arctic Inuit, Native American adaptations to cold an...
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       Arctic Inuit, Native American adaptations to cold and body fat
       distribution
        
       Author : giuliomagnifico
       Score  : 65 points
       Date   : 2022-02-27 17:09 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (academic.oup.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (academic.oup.com)
        
       | cf100clunk wrote:
       | Odd to see Inuit pluralized with a trailing s. FWIW, they are
       | referred to as "the Inuit" in Canada.
       | 
       | EDIT: I see from the document gwern posted that "Inuits" does not
       | appear in it, only in the HN title.
        
         | cf100clunk wrote:
         | Further, to be pedantic, it seems needless to call them the
         | Arctic Inuit as they only live in the Arctic.
        
           | loufe wrote:
           | Pedantically that's incorrect. Some Inuit communities live
           | far below the arctic circle, which technically makes them
           | non-arctic Inuit.
        
             | qiskit wrote:
             | Then it should only be Inuit since I'm assuming the Inuit
             | outside of the arctic also have these ancient genes.
             | 
             | The title makes it seem like only the inuit who live in the
             | arctic have these genes. But I doubt that's the case.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | mrfusion wrote:
           | So far ...
        
           | eloff wrote:
           | I think it's useful for people who are unfamiliar with who
           | the Inuit are.
        
         | giuliomagnifico wrote:
         | Okay I corrected the title. Sorry I'm Italian and I thought:
         | one Inuit, two Inuits. My mistake!
        
         | helloooooooo wrote:
         | Inuit is plural; Inuk is singular
        
           | Enk1du wrote:
           | and Inuak is dual (in the Baffin Island dialect[0], if I
           | extrapolate correctly - a little knowledge is a dangerous
           | thing) for when you need to talk about 2 people, because why
           | _wouldn't_ you need a dual case. Wonderful language. Wish I
           | had more tuits.
           | 
           | [0] Inuit Languages and Dialects by Louis-Jacques Dorais,
           | Nunavut Arctic College, 2003
        
       | gwern wrote:
       | Fulltext: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5430617/
       | (2016)
        
       | globular-toast wrote:
       | The title here seems wrong. What does "burn more fat" even mean?
       | Everyone is capable of burning 100% of their fat. The article
       | instead seems to talk about generating heat from a specific type
       | of body fat.
        
         | giuliomagnifico wrote:
         | Correct but since there's a characters limit in the title, I
         | made a very small (and maybe not 100% accurate) excerpt.
         | 
         | >a region in the genome containing two genes has now been
         | scrutinized by scientists: TBX15 and WARS2. This region is
         | thought to be central to cold adaptation by generating heat
         | from a specific type of body fat, and was earlier found to be a
         | candidate for adaptation in the Inuits.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | sigzero wrote:
       | Can I get that gene...please? lol
        
         | gruez wrote:
         | Drug from the 30s that pretty much does something similar:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Dinitrophenol
         | 
         | I wouldn't recommend it though. Turns out modifying your
         | mitochondria into pumping out more energy has some negative
         | side effects.
        
         | globular-toast wrote:
         | What for? Are you planning on having to survive periods of
         | extreme famine and/or cold?
        
           | alwillis wrote:
           | Because people without such genes have to exercise more or
           | take costly drugs or supplements to get their bodies to do
           | the same thing.
        
             | globular-toast wrote:
             | But why would you want that? The only reason anyone
             | (including Inuits) are going to burn fat is if you are in a
             | caloric deficit and the only reason you put on fat is if
             | you are in a caloric surplus. So unless you look forward to
             | a life of yo-yo dieting, this won't do you any good. Since
             | we have plenty of food it's better to only eat what you
             | need to year round.
        
         | jotm wrote:
         | You can just use medicine, that's what it's for. Even
         | salbutamol+caffeine works, there's also ephedrine, clenbuterol,
         | and of course amphetamine at the high end.
         | 
         | Sad that governments are doing their best to stop people from
         | using medicine to solve their problems... you know, the reason
         | why they were invented in the first place.
         | 
         | But really, the best method is to eat less... not as simple as
         | it sounds, but it's by far the best method to lose fat.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | paulpauper wrote:
           | eating less..good way to kill ur productivity. I remember
           | trying to eat much less...after a day I could only summon the
           | motivation to just rock back and forth on a chair for hours.
           | I was unable to do anything else.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | nonrandomstring wrote:
       | I started cold water sea swimming a few years ago. I always
       | surfed and canoed in the summer, but started staying in the water
       | through the winter (sometimes with 5mm wetsuit) . Where I am in
       | the UK the winter temperature is about 7 degrees at the
       | shoreline. I know nothing about genetics, in general or about my
       | own genealogy, but apparently it can increase "brown fat" in some
       | people, which burns energy in a different way. Maybe this ability
       | is within all of us and can be switched on? Anyway I have found
       | it easier to manage my weight as a result of cold water exercise.
        
         | criticaltinker wrote:
         | Highly recommend reading about Wim Hof to anyone interested in
         | this topic. He's been the subject of quite a bit of research.
         | 
         |  _> A 2014 assessment compared Wim Hof and his identical twin
         | brother. The scientists had them practice Wim 's breathing
         | exercises, then exposed them to the lowest temperature that
         | would not induce shivering. They concluded that, "No
         | significant differences were found between the two subjects,
         | indicating that a lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme
         | cold does not seem to affect BAT activity and CIT (cold-induced
         | thermogenesis)."[28] Both had rises of 40% of their metabolic
         | rates over the resting rate, compared to a maximum of 30%
         | observed in young adults. However, their brown fat percentage--
         | while high for their age--was not enough to account for all of
         | the increase. The rest was due to their vigorous breathing,
         | which increased the metabolic activity in their respiratory
         | muscles. _
         | 
         | _> One 2018 study of Wim Hof published in the journal
         | NeuroImage used a combination of fMRI and PET /CT imaging, and
         | found: forceful respiration results in increased sympathetic
         | innervation and glucose consumption in intercostal muscle,
         | generating heat that dissipates to lung tissue and warms
         | circulating blood in the pulmonary capillaries. Our results
         | provide compelling evidence for the primacy of the brain (CNS)
         | rather than the body (peripheral mechanisms) in mediating the
         | Iceman's [Wim Hof's] responses to cold exposure._
         | 
         | [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof
        
           | nonrandomstring wrote:
           | Interesting. So to clarify, would you say it's not the cold
           | per se, but the fact that cold water swimming is just more
           | strenuous and leads to more aerobic activity, which in turn
           | burns more. The "brown fat" is a distraction/irrelevance?
        
       | FollowingTheDao wrote:
       | Even though I look Caucasian I have several Inuit genes from the
       | Sami people, passed down from my mothers side. Will check later
       | if I have these polymorphisms but I already carry the CPT1A gene
       | changes linking me to the Inuit.
       | 
       | Finding this in my genome changed my diet and changed my life.
        
         | qiskit wrote:
         | Are there any Sami still left? The genocide of the sami and
         | their culture is truly tragic and sadly ignored.
        
           | samatman wrote:
           | Wikipedia suggests around 100,000.
           | 
           | Which doesn't sound like a lot, and maybe it isn't, but two
           | useful comparisons are the 300,000 Icelanders and the 50,000
           | Faroese. If they're dying out that isn't clear from the
           | numbers.
        
           | FollowingTheDao wrote:
           | Yes, the numbers range from 10 to 30,000. It was horrible,
           | and it is still is horrible. They keep interfering with their
           | traditional herding and lifestyle. Between imaginary boarders
           | and logging and mining and now climate change, it is a
           | constant struggle for their cultural survival.
        
           | BurningFrog wrote:
           | There are plenty.
           | 
           | Borje Salming is in the NHL Hall Of Fame:
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6rje_Salming
        
         | cmrdporcupine wrote:
         | Sami and Inuit are two entirely disjoint population groups.
         | Different language groups, different genetics.
        
         | DoreenMichele wrote:
         | _Finding this in my genome changed my diet and changed my
         | life._
         | 
         | I would be interested in hearing more on that if you are
         | willing to share. (You can email me if you don't want to say it
         | here.)
        
           | wilkommen wrote:
           | I would also be interested to know more about that.
        
             | tuomasj wrote:
             | Yes, as a Sami, I'd be interested to know more, desperately
             | ;-)
        
               | darebak wrote:
               | Probably some kind of keto/carnivore diet if I had to
               | guess.
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | Yes, but mostly all seafood and I eat berries as well. So
               | it is not really either. I do not aim for ketosis of
               | anything like that, mostly becasue my genetics protects
               | me from it.
        
               | golemiprague wrote:
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | Hello!!! :) Are you full Sami or part? I am 1/4 Italian
               | and 1/4 Hungarian as well. But it seems these dietary
               | genes come from the maternal side.
        
           | FollowingTheDao wrote:
           | I eat all fish and shellfish (oysters, mussles), no other
           | fats, but for some lean meats, game meats like venison and
           | bison. And only olive oil if any oil. Very low carbohydrates
           | but a lot of berries, and a lot of seaweed and mushrooms (I
           | am a FUT2 non-secretor and these are high in Fucose).
           | Basically I eat like the Sami.
           | 
           | Before this, at around 45 years old I was a vegan (a good
           | vegan) and my cholesterol was VERY high and HDL too low,
           | hypertensive, IBS-D, and mood instability and they did a
           | brain scan at one point because it looked like I was getting
           | MS.
           | 
           | Note I have a family history of hyperlipidemia.
           | 
           | My cholesterol totally corrected and reversed, IBS is gone,
           | BP is much better, still some mood issues but no need for
           | meds anymore.
           | 
           | Basically the gene polymorphisms I saw that were relevant to
           | my diet were FADS1, FADS2, FUT2 (non-secretor) CPT1A, BTD,
           | PNP, and GCH1 among some others.
           | 
           | But yes, the CPT1A polymorphisms protects me from ketosis.
        
             | DoreenMichele wrote:
             | Thank you.
        
             | cleancoder0 wrote:
             | This sounds a bit like you went from a low calorie diet
             | that triggered various metabolic shutdowns to a high
             | calorie diet that made your body work again.
             | 
             | Sounds like you went from hypogonadism ( which is
             | associated with all of your listed issues) to something
             | healthier.
             | 
             | Quite impressive if diet solved it, although it might be
             | the calories, not the content.
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | No.
               | 
               | If anything I am eating less calories now. I was heavier
               | then as well. It was causing a multitude of deficiencies.
               | B6, Zinc I know for sure because my doctor tested them.
               | 
               | But it is interesting you bring up hypogonadism, not that
               | I had it, but I was born with a cryptorchidism and had to
               | have the testicle removed when I was three. This is a
               | known effect of zinc deficiency which is one reason they
               | tested me.
               | 
               | http://www.ivsajournals.com/article_3146_21dc13f2fb1df514
               | b89...
        
               | cleancoder0 wrote:
               | Yeah, being overweight, having hypogonadism and eating a
               | low calorie diet can result in no weight loss or even
               | weight gain. The energy distribution is all over the
               | place and the lack of calories affects cognition, hormone
               | production etc.
               | 
               | If you were a "good" vegan, as you mentioned, I cannot
               | imagine what kind of foods you ate to have more calories
               | compared to fat (calorie) rich foods like fish, mussels
               | or meat.
               | 
               | 500 grams of raw beans is 2000kcal (very little for an
               | avg 45 year old man), contains about 120g of protein, but
               | is around 1.5kg of beanwater sludge when cooked.
               | Impossible to eat in a day for most people. Adding rice,
               | pasta, or other sources of calories still does not help a
               | lot. It takes a lot of food to get to 2500-3000kcal.
               | 
               | Many vegans lack calories in their diet. Older and
               | sedentary vegans that are starting to develop protein
               | resistance (due to age or sedentary lifestyle) also
               | consume way too little protein. A perfect recipe for
               | various metabolic issues and aging related diseases.
        
               | FollowingTheDao wrote:
               | It is not just about calories. I cannot metabolize short
               | chain fatty acids well and they all come from plant food.
               | 
               | Stop assuming you know anything about my life to fit your
               | paradigm. I was always starving when I was vegan so I ate
               | more. I know how many calories I eat it is is way less.
               | 
               | It is NOT just about food, it is also about genetics.
        
       | rsync wrote:
       | Although it does not discuss Inuit specifically, the _excellent_
       | book:
       | 
       | _Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life_ [1]
       | by Nick Lane discussed how mitochondria can be "geared" to lean
       | one way or another when dealing with additional energy inputs.
       | 
       | Which is to say, different mitochondrial DNA either leans toward
       | generating additional heat or generating additional ATP (and,
       | eventually, fat) when presented with surplus energy inputs.
       | 
       | It appears the difference is subtle but you would expect it to
       | manifest itself across very broad population surveys.
       | 
       | On the other hand, if _everyone_ is getting _tremendous_ energy
       | input surpluses it probably doesn 't matter.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39001.Power_Sex_Suicide
        
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       (page generated 2022-02-27 23:00 UTC)