Prior to modernisation, Arctic Eskimos ate only meat and fish. Their diet compri

Question

Prior to modernisation, Arctic Eskimos ate only meat and fish. Their diet comprised 66% fat, 32% protein and 2% carbohydrate (from glycogen).

List the metabolic pathways you would expect to be upregulated and/ or downregulated in Arctic Eskimos. Explain your reasoning.

Prior to modernisation, Arctic Eskimos ate only meat and fish. Their diet comprised 66% fat, 32% protein and 2% carbohydrate (from glycogen).

List the metabolic pathways you would expect to be upregulated and/ or downregulated in Arctic Eskimos. Explain your reasoning.

Explanation / Answer

The Arctic Eskimos ate most meat and fish with their compromising majorly of fat and protein. The fat diet means there is high amount of fatty acids present in their diet.

1) The beta oxidation process leads to breakdown of the fatty acid chains and store the triglycerides into the fat cells. The triglycerides is then oxidized into energy into acetyl-CoA and used for regulation and metabolism. In the Eskimos, the native diet is majorly high fat concentration and protein with very less carbohydrate.

2) The high protein might hinder with certain metabolism and functions. With presence of excess proteins it makes it hard for the liver and kidneys to process the proteins and excretes large number of byproducts with the urine. The Eskimos are known to have enlarged liver so that they are able to excrete the byproducts and process the proteins.

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