Ebook Vitamin C in the Diet of Inuit Hunters From Holman, Northwest Territories
Early arctic explorers recognized the value of adopting the traditional Inuit diet of raw or boiled fish and meat, with only occasional ground plants and berries (Nansen, 1897). Those who could not or would not endure the change fell victim to malnutrition (Stefansson, 1918). Scurvy, caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, was observed in the arctic for the first time among white explorers and trappers who persistently ate “southern” foods. Ironically, the instrusion of southern white culture into northern communities led to the inevitable adoption of processed foods by the Inuit. This, combined with the consolidation of small hunting communities into large villages from which there may be little access to native foods, has gradually resulted in a decline in nutritional status among the Inuit (Draper, 1977).
Subacute scurvy, attributedt o thea bsence of fresh meat, was noted in 28 of 30 Eskimo children examined in Point Barrow, Alaska (Levine, 1940). “Only reindeer killed several months before, was available.” A study in 1947 by the Alaska Department of Health, showed that ascorbic acid was consistently lacking in native diets. Of 117 plasma ascorbic acid determinations, 96 were rated poor, 16 fair, and only 5 were within a normal range (Heller, 1949).
In a recent study of four major Inuit settlements in the Northwest Territories (Eskimo Point, Pelly Bay, Frobisher Bay and Coppermine), a Nutrition Canada survey reported that vitamin C intake was adequate only in children under five years of age, and clearly low in women over 54 years of age. Between 50 and 80 percent of adults were placed in high risk categories (Anon., 1975a).
Small hunting settlements were necessarily overlooked in the Canada-wide nutritional survey, yet unlike the larger settlements these small communities have retained much of the traditional culture and healthful life style recognized by the early explorers.
We undertook this study, as part of a larger investigation into vitamin C in the arctic food chain, to determine the adequacy of vitamin C in the summer diet of three Inuit families from Holman, a hunting community of approximately 250 people. Though commercially prepared foods are available and utilized, a large variety of native foods forms the bulk of the diet.
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