Why is it healthy for them to eat sugar?

Two copies of a genetic mutation make their way of absorbing sugar different from others
.

"Adult Greenlanders with genetic variants have lower BMI, weight, fat percentage, and cholesterol levels and are generally healthier
.

Professor Albrechtsen and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark and some research institutions and public institutions in Greenland analyzed the data of 6,551 adult residents of Greenland and performed it on mice.

The results showed that people with this genetic variant suffer from sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, which means that they have a special way of metabolizing sugar in the intestine
.

Here, intestinal bacteria convert sugar into a short-chain fatty acid called acetate.
In previous studies, acetate has been shown to reduce appetite, promote metabolism, and strengthen the immune system
.

Why genetic variation is common among Greenlanders

Greenlanders have this extensive genetic variation because their eating habits have been different from those in other parts of the world for thousands of years
.

"This may be because Greenlanders don’t have too much sugar
in their diet .

He added that this makes genetic mutations happen frequently because there is no need to absorb sugar quickly in the blood
.

Genetic variation is difficult for children

Although this difference has obvious benefits for the health of adult Greenlanders, it is a problem for their children
.

"Young carriers of this mutation experience negative consequences because they absorb different types of sugar
.

He and the research team hope that they can use the results of this new study to lay the foundation for the development of new drugs that may one day treat cardiovascular disease and obesity
.

"We can see that genetic mutations provide better fat balance in the blood, which leads to lower body weight and thus fewer cardiovascular diseases
.

Research summary:

Mouse diet experiment

• In addition to the health data of 6,551 Greenlanders, the researchers also supplemented their research with diet experiments in mice
  .

  
  They tried to investigate what happened in the gut of people with genetic mutations
  
  

• To this end, they studied two groups of mice
  .
  One group was artificially inhibited to absorb sugar, which is similar to the genetic variation found in Greenlanders
  .
  Sugar absorption in the second group was normal
  .
  

• Their results showed that when mice with inhibitory ability had free access to fat and sugar food, their weight gain was only half that of the other group of mice
  .
  This confirms the researchers' analysis of health data, that gene mutations have a series of health benefits, including weight reduction and BMI
  .
  
  

Journal Reference :

1. Mette K.
   Andersen, Line Skotte, Emil Jørsboe, Ryan Polito, Frederik F.
   Stæger, Peter Aldiss, Kristian Hanghøj, Ryan K.
   Waples, Cindy G.
   Santander, Niels Grarup, Inger K.
   Dahl-Petersen , Lars J.
   Diaz, Maria Overvad, Ninna K.
   Senftleber, Bolette Søborg, Christina VL Larsen, Clara Lemoine, Oluf Pedersen, Bjarke Feenstra, Peter Bjerregaard, Mads Melbye, Marit E.
   Jørgensen, Nils J.
   Fæ rgeman, Anders Koch, Thomas Moritz, Matthew P.
   Gillum, Ida Moltke, Torben Hansen, Anders Albrechtsen.
   Loss of sucrase-isomaltase function increases acetate levels and improves metabolic health in Greenlandic cohorts .
   Gastroenterology , 2021; DOI: 10.
   1053/j.
   gastro .
   2021.
   12.
   236