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Fulltext Microbiota in foods from Inuit traditional hunting

Hauptmann AL, Paulová P, Hansen LH, Sicheritz-Pontén T, Mulvad G, Nielsen DS

PLoS One, 2020;15(1):e0227819.
PMID: 31935269 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227819

The foods we eat contain microorganisms that we ingest alongside the food. Industrialized food systems offer great advantages from a safety point of view, but have also been accused of depleting the diversity of the human microbiota with negative implications for human health. In contrast, artisanal traditional foods are potential sources of a diverse food microbiota. Traditional foods of the Greenlandic Inuit are comprised of animal-sourced foods prepared in the natural environment and are often consumed raw. These foods, some of which are on the verge of extinction, have not previously been microbiologically characterized. We mapped the microbiota of foods stemming from traditional Inuit land-based hunting activities. The foods included in the current study are dried muskox and caribou meat, caribou rumen and intestinal content as well as larval parasites from caribou hides, all traditional Inuit foods. This study shows that traditional drying methods are efficient for limiting microbial growth through desiccation. The results also show the rumen content of the caribou to be a highly diverse source of microbes with potential for degradation of plants. Finally, a number of parasites were shown to be included in the biodiversity of the assessed traditional foods. Taken together, the results map out a diverse source of ingested microbes and parasites that originate from the natural environment. These results have implications for understanding the nature-sourced traditional Inuit diet, which is in contrast to current day diet recommendations as well as modern industrialized food systems.

Matched MeSH terms: Inuits*
Fulltext The microbial composition of dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic Inuit traditions and industrial counterparts

Hauptmann AL, Paulová P, Castro-Mejía JL, Hansen LH, Sicheritz-Pontén T, Mulvad G, et al.

Food Microbiol, 2020 Feb;85:103305.
PMID: 31500717 DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2019.103305

The practices of preparing traditional foods in the Arctic are rapidly disappearing. Traditional foods of the Arctic represent a rarity among food studies in that they are meat-sourced and prepared in non-industrial settings. These foods, generally consumed without any heating step prior to consumption, harbor an insofar undescribed microbiome. The food-associated microbiomes have implications not only with respect to disease risk, but might also positively influence host health by transferring a yet unknown diversity of live microbes to the human gastrointestinal tract. Here we report the first study of the microbial composition of traditionally dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic traditions and their industrial counterparts. We show that dried capelin prepared according to traditional methods have microbiomes clearly different from industrially prepared capelin, which also have more homogenous microbiomes than traditionally prepared capelin. Interestingly, the locally preferred type of traditionally dried capelin, described to be tastier than other traditionally dried capelin, contains bacteria that potentially confer distinct taste. Finally, we show that dried cod have comparably more homogenous microbiomes when compared to capelin and that in general, the environment of drying is a major determinant of the microbial composition of these indigenous food products.

Matched MeSH terms: Inuits
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia in Indigenous Populations: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors

Walker JD, Spiro G, Loewen K, Jacklin K

J Alzheimers Dis, 2020;78(4):1439-1451.
PMID: 33185601 DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200704

BACKGROUND: There remains a lack of information and understanding of the prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in Indigenous populations. Little evidence available suggests that Indigenous peoples may have disproportionately high rates of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD).
OBJECTIVE: Given this information, this study systematically explores what risk factors may be associated with ADRD in Indigenous populations.
METHODS: A search of all published literature was conducted in October 2016, March 2018, and July 2019 using Medline, Embase, and PsychINFO. Subject headings explored were inclusive of all terms related to Indigenous persons, dementia, and risk. All relevant words, phrases, and combinations were used. To be included in this systematic review, articles had to display an association of a risk factor and ADRD. Only studies that reported a quantifiable measure of risk, involved human subjects, and were published in English were included.
RESULTS: Of 237 articles originally identified through database searches, 45 were duplicates and 179 did not meet a priori inclusion criteria, resulting in 13 studies eligible for inclusion in this systematic review.
CONCLUSION: The large number of potentially modifiable risk factors reported relative to non-modifiable risk factors illustrates the importance of socioeconomic context in the pathogenesis of ADRD in Indigenous populations. The tendency to prioritize genetic over social explanations when encountering disproportionately high disease rates in Indigenous populations can distract from modifiable proximal, intermediate, and distal determinants of health.

Matched MeSH terms: Inuits/statistics & numerical data
A holistic (Horney) approach to the psychoses: the schizophrenias. I. Sociocultural, developmental and psychogenetic factors

Rubins JL

Am J Psychoanal, 1969;29(2):131-46.
PMID: 4900056
Matched MeSH terms: Inuits