US EPA

7326288 

Journal Article 

Lipid components of traditional inuit foods and diets of Baffin Island 

Kuhnlein, HV; Kubow, S; Soueida, R 

1991 

Yes 

Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
ISSN: 0889-1575
EISSN: 1096-0481 

4 

3 

227-236 

English 

10.1016/0889-1575(91)90034-4 

BCI:BCI199293010373 

Traditional wildlife foods harvested and consumed by the Inuit resident on the east coast of Baffin Island were analyzed for fat and fatty acid contents. While values for these components in caribou and various species of seals have been reported earlier, this is the first comprehensive report of the major fatty acids in the spectrum of foods consumed by a population resident in the high Arctic. This is the first report of fat and fatty acid contents of several of these foods derived from animal population species. Summary data are also presented on fats, energy, and total fatty acid contents in the average annual diet of adult males and females who consume both traditional Inuit and market foods. It was found that while market foods contribute more total energy, total fat, and saturated and polyunsaturated fats, the total energy as saturated fat is less than 10%. The very low ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acid ratios in the Inuit food dietary profile of 0.26 (women) and 0.29 (men) are the reverse of recently proposed ratios for optimal health. However, since the traditional Inuit diet supported a healthy population supposedly free of cardiovascular disease, the low ω-6 to ω-3 dietary fat intakes may be appropriate for the Inuit.