Chapter 51 – Dietary Patterns in a Circumpolar Context: A Cultural Approach to the Interpretation of Three Studies on Mediterranean, Traditional Sami, and Low-Carbohydrate Dietary Pattern Scores in Northernmost Sweden

Lena Maria Nilsson, PhD

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-407849-9.00051-8

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Abstract

Northern Sweden has a unique traditional food culture that deviates a great deal from the Mediterranean food culture because it emerged from an indigenous Sami culture adapted to a circumpolar environment. The Sami have an equal life expectancy and a reduced risk of cancer compared to Sweden’s majority population. Yet, unlike the Mediterranean diet, which is associated with decreased mortality, the traditional Sami diet is associated with increased mortality in the northern Swedish population. A relatively low intake of carbohydrates in the traditional Sami diet is not associated with altered mortality in northern Sweden, however. Thus, studies of Mediterranean and traditional Sami dietary patterns in a circumpolar context confirm evidence-based dietary guidelines, but the effects of the Sami’s low-carbohydrate dietary pattern do not. As these results indicate, knowledge of food culture and nutritional transitions is important when interpreting risk associations connected to culturally defined dietary patterns.

Keywords

Mediterranean diet;
Traditional food;
Food culture;
Sami;
Carbohydrate intake;
Protein intake;
Mortality;
Circumpolar health;
Cohort study

Abbreviations

FAO: the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
FFQ: food frequency questionnaire
LCHF: low-carbohydrate, high-fat
LCHP: low-carbohydrate, high-protein
VIP: Västerbotten Intervention Programme

Acknowledgments

The author’s contribution to the three studies on modified Mediterranean, traditional Sami, and low-carbohydrate, high-protein scores were completed with financial support from HELGA/Nordforsk.

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Sunday, 24 May 2015