Bluesky - I am confused by referring to eskimos in reference to Alice's post about low carb diets and hypoglycemia risk.
Eskimos have a functioning pancreas, so it does not matter how much glycogen their bodies ultimately store. They will not suffer any ill effects, except perhaps from not being able to maintain extreme levels of exertion for as long as someone who has access to large quantities of glucose.
the point is and it is well known, that diets with extremely low amounts of carbs and we are talking below 30g of carbs per day are ketogenic - the bodies response to low glucose is to convert other substrates (protein and glycerol) into glucose. This prevents the liver completely metabolising fat, and it's response is to release ketones. This is what happens to eskimos - however there is a maximum amount of glucose available from this source and it is less than if you eat carbs.
what happens to eskimos physiologically is broadly this - the bodies response to the high fat diet is to increase insulin resistance particularly in muscle - this helps preserve precious glucose, and also forces the muscles to become fat adapted - that is they store large quantities of triglycerides (this response is seen in both insulin resistance due to syndrome X and endurance athletes). The body does NOT become more efficient at burning fats, it just has more fat stored. The increased insulin resistance, also helps eskimos store body fat, and prevents their bodies wasting it by turning it into heat.
on a slightly different tact...
low carb diets are not ketogenic unless they fall below this 30g threshold. i.e. they do not generate significant amounts of glucose. The problem comes with strenuous exercise the kind that burns large quantities glycogen - repeated sprinting, weight lifting, etc. This can deplete muscle glycogen (in as little as 30-45 minutes in someone who is not trained) - the body's response to this is to make the muscles very insulin sensitive - they will draw glucose out of the blood stream - post exercise hypos (several hours afterwards) are very common.
This can in some cases drain the liver of glycogen - which can be hazardous if you go low during the night. The remedy is extremely simply - make sure when you finish any form of strenuous exercise that you eat a carb based snack immediately afterwards, and that you have sufficient carbs before you go to bed - i.e in your evening meal. Choosing to go for 10-20 grams of carbs in your evening meal would not be sensible if for instance that day you've spent 4 hours cycling x-country, playing 45 minutes of basketball etc etc. This advice applies whether you low carb or not.
interestingly from the case study in the link I posted, the young man who died had played basketball the evening before.
and finally, when studies start quoting how healthy a particular lifestyle is, then all you need to do is look at lifespan figures to make yourself feel better...
Inuit lifespan stagnates while Canada's rises | Science & Health | Reuters
The Inuit have the lowest life expectancy among Canada's 3 aboriginal peoples. Yep all that meat eating must be very healthy.
