Studies show that some Greenlanders have a genetic variation that makes them healthy when they eat sugar
Sweets with sugar are delicious, but if you eat too much, you may get fat or get sick. Research on such sugar has revealed that people in the Arctic island of Greenland have a genetic variation that absorbs sugar in a different way.
Loss of sucrase-isomaltase function increases acetate levels and improves metabolic health in Greenlandic cohorts --Gastroenterology
For some Greenlanders, eating sugar is healthy – University of Copenhagen
https://science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2021/for-some-greenlanders-eating-sugar-is-healthy/
Mett Andersen and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen are investigating people in Greenland called 'Greenlanders,' who refer to indigenous peoples and their mixed races. Analysis of the health data of 6551 adult Greenlanders found that people with certain genetic variants had a relatively healthy body with low BMI, weight, body fat percentage, and cholesterol levels. increase.
Based on this data, Andersen et al. Conducted experiments with mice and found that carriers of genetic mutations have a genetic disorder called ' scrase-isomaltase deficiency.' According to Andersen et al., Greenlanders with this disease, unlike other people, do not absorb sugar in the blood, and the sugar that has flowed into the intestines is converted to short-chain fatty acids by intestinal bacteria. matter. Short-chain fatty acids have been shown to reduce appetite, increase metabolism and boost the immune system, which leads to good health, Andersen and colleagues say.
However, while this mutation is a health benefit for adults, it is problematic for children, Andersen et al. It causes abdominal pain and abdominal distension. It is speculated that gut bacteria learn how to break down sugar as they accumulate sugar. '
It is believed that the reason why Greenlander has such a genetic variation is related to the diet that has been continued for hundreds of years. The only diet that can be eaten in the environment of Greenland is meat and fat such as fish, whales and reindeer, and the sugar content that Greenlander ingests is kept to a minimum. Andersen and colleagues believe that this eliminates the need to absorb sugar in the blood and may have resulted in the mutations mentioned above.
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