In a message dated 11/12/2007 4:17:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:

Can anybody comment on this quote from a book by Ross Horne:

Studies of primitive Eskimos in the late 1800s and early 1900s
revealed no evident cancer or heart disease among them. These robust
and happy people, living in their natural state, existed almost
entirely on animal protein and fat, and so impressed were some of the
observers, they adopted all-meat diets themselves.

What these people overlooked was that the Eskimos' vigorous health
was enjoyed only by the young, and that by middle age, when their
vital organs began to break down, the Eskimo aged rapidly, and
suffered severe osteoporosis. At the same time, the Eskimos had a very
low resistance to infectious diseases whenever exposed to them. Dr
Samuel Hutton, one of the observers (1902-1913) in his book Health
Conditions and Disease Incidence Among the Eskimos of Labrador,
confirmed the fact that cancer and other diseases of civilization were
not evident among the Eskimos but had this to say about their life
expectancy:

"Old age sets in at fifty and its signs are strongly marked at
sixty. In the years beyond sixty, the Eskimo is aged and feeble.
Comparatively few live beyond sixty and only a very few reach seventy.
Those who live to such an age have spent a life of great activity,
feeding on Eskimo foods and engaging in characteristically Eskimo
pursuits . . . Careful records have been left by the missionaries for
more than a hundred years.

"Perhaps the most striking of the peculiarities of the Eskimo
constitution is the tendency to hemorrhage.* Young and old alike are
subject to nose bleeding and these sometimes continue for as much as
three days and reduce the patient to a condition of collapse."

*The reason for this hemorrhaging is the large quantities of EPA
in the fats of the Eskimo diet, as described in Chapter 10. EPA, and
the improved circulation it affords, accounts also, to a great extent,
for the Eskimos' freedom from cancer and heart attack.

Vilhjalmur Stephansson spent many years among the primitive Eskimos
around the turn of the century, observing them specifically for signs
of cancer. He wrote the book Cancer, a Disease of Civilization and
erroneously concluded that an all-animal diet was the key to their
health. Later under the auspices of the US meat industry, Stephansson
adopted an all-meat diet. His blood cholesterol rose to over 600 mg%
and he developed serious cardiovascular disease.*

*The Eskimos consumed most of their food (including large
amounts of fat) uncooked, and thereby to a great degree were protected
from hypercholesterolemia as explained in the discussion on raw food.

I believe the part about Stephansson's blood cholesterol rising is innacurate 
because the results of his cholesterol and other bloodwork were published and 
while I don't remember the exact numbers, his cholesterol fell during all 
meat diet.  Just do a search on Stephansson's works and read for yourself.  Many 
of his papers ie Adventures in Diet etc are posted on various websites.  As 
for the bleeding problems caused by excessive EFAs -- that I believe.  I also 
think the aged appearance among the Eskimos had much to do with harsh climate 
and ingesting spoiled fish (a delicacy according Stephansson's writings -- they 
would bury it and let it get "ripe" then dig up and eat it -- he analogized it 
to the Western practice of eating spoiled milk in the form of cheese -- moldy 
cheese is a delicacy here) --  EFA's are prone to rancidity and purposely 
eating spoiled EFA's would create a slurry of free radical damage. If they didn't 
die young of strokes, my view is that certainly would have gotten more cancer 
down the road. Stephansson hypothesized that the Eskimo women had a 
prematurely aged appearance and I think that is partly subjective (no make-up), partly 
because of the harsh climate and largely because of the regular ingestion of 
spoiled fish.  They also ate plenty of caribou and boiled fish -- but 
Stephansson rights about the spoiled fish delicacy.  One last thing -- Ross Horne 
advocated an all-fruit diet.  So I take anything he has to say with a grain of 
salt...on my hunk of fatty meat of course. 



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