Consumption Of Wild Foods Research Articles

Unveiling the Health Promising Benefits of Processed Foods Derived from Underutilized Edible Plants: A Review.

Wild food plants (WFPs) grow naturally and are essential components of the diet and conventional food chain. These plants are underutilized despite being nutritious and highly bio-active compounds. Wild food consumption has declined over the last generation owing to life-style changes and lower availability, and it is still consumed by marginalized communities. WFPs are available in a broad range of species and flavors that can help diversify the diet and make meals more enjoyable. Therefore, enhancing the availability and consumption of pro-cessed foods manufactured from wild plants is necessary. The increased use of processed prod-ucts formulated from edible wild plants can improve nutrition and protect ecological and cultural varieties. They are high in vitamins and micro-and macronutrients, which are essential for com-munities particularly vulnerable to malnutrition and imbalanced health. As plants develop natu-rally without the use of pesticides or other fertilizers, wild-food plants are typically considered more sustainable than commercial crops. Wild plants contain phytochemicals with various phar-macological and biological properties. Consuming WFPs should be done with caution and mod-eration, because some wild plants can be hazardous or harmful if consumed in large quantities or without adequate preparation. This review discusses various emerging technologies for han-dling wild food plants, the health benefits of these wild food plants, the effect of processing on reducing ant nutritional components, pharmaceutical potential, and consumers' overall percep-tions of wild food plants.

Food environment change on wild food consumption in rural Tanzania

In this longitudinal study we explore how changes in food environments have shaped the acquisition and consumption of wild foods among people living near forests. Our study conceptually improves food environment frameworks by including evidence on changes in wild food consumption. We used data collected in both the dry and rainy seasons in 2009 and 2021/2022 in four villages in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Across data collections, we conducted qualitative interviews, focus groups and repeated household surveys, including questions on dietary intake, food sources, agricultural practices, and use of wild resources. We found that the proportion of people who collected wild foods within the past seven days had declined from 90 to 61% in the dry season and from 99 to 72% in the wet season. The main reasons were 1) decreased availability caused by, for example, loss of biodiversity, 2) lack of access due to government forest regulations, and 3) increased desirability towards marked-based foods. Our results show how changes in both availability, access and desirability of wild foods have shifted dietary choices from wild foods towards cultivated and purchased foods. Also, we see less widespread consumption of sentinel food groups such as dark green leafy vegetables. Our results highlight the need for an additional dimension in existing food environment frameworks: “Legal access to wild resources” that would cover access to wild foods. This dimension is important as loss of legal access and declining consumption can have negative dietary implications, since the most commonly consumed wild foods, such as leafy vegetables, are nutritionally important.

Wild Foods Are Positively Associated with Diet Diversity and Child Growth in a Protected Forest Area of Madagascar

BackgroundConcurrent losses in biodiversity and human dietary diversity are evident in Madagascar and across many food systems globally. Wild food harvest can mitigate nutrition insecurities but may also pose species conservation concerns. ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the association of wild plant and animal species consumption during hunger season with diet diversity and child growth near the Alandraza-Agnalavelo protected forest in Southwestern Madagascar. Second, we studied the conservation status of the consumed wild plants. MethodsMethods from public health nutrition (24-h recall dietary intake, anthropometry using World Health Organization [WHO] Growth Standards), ethnobotany, and forest ecology (ecologic studies of abundance, habitat preference, associated species, food chemistry assays, and species richness) were applied. ResultsMalnutrition in children (n = 305) was highly prevalent: stunting (32.3%); wasting (18.8%); and low-dietary diversity (4% meeting WHO minimum dietary diversity threshold). Animal foods were consumed in small quantities, providing <10% of Dietary Reference Intakes for all limiting nutrients. Twenty-two wild plant species were consumed during hunger season, prominently tubers (Dioscoreaceae), and leafy greens (Asteraceae, Blechnaceae, Portulacaceae, and Solanaceae). Eight of the 9 target species were identified as abundant and “Least Concern,” whereas Amorphophollus taurostigma was abundant and “Vulnerable.” Regression modeling showed wild food consumption was associated with an increased household dietary diversity score [β = 0.29 (0.06 standard error); P < 0.001], and total wild animal foods positively correlated with height-for-age Z score [β = 0.14 (0.07 standard error); P = 0.04]. ConclusionsWild plant and animal foods may be an important element of food systems to support human nutrition while maintaining ecosystem viability.

Wild foods from forests: Quantities collected across Zambia

Abstract Forests provide an immense range of benefits to people, many of which are not prioritized by forest policy because they are difficult to quantify. Wild foods from forests enhance the quality of diets for those who consume them and provide income for those who sell or trade them. The quantity of wild food collected is challenging to measure because of non‐standard units, seasonal differences in collection patterns and large numbers of species. To provide initial estimates of collection volume in Zambia and pilot new methods, we surveyed 209 households across 14 villages randomly selected within 5 study areas covering all four agro‐ecological areas between 6 August and 27 October, 2019. For each study area, we conducted a focus group to identify the most commonly collected species within each of nine food product types (mushrooms, insects, green leafy vegetables, tubers, fruits, nuts, wild meat, wild fish, and aquatic plants). All but one surveyed household collected some wild foods; on average, each household collected five types of food product, most commonly mushrooms, fruits and green leafy vegetables. Volume collected varied markedly by household, product type and study area. Rural households in Zambia are estimated to collect over 380 million litres, 380,000 m3, of wild foods annually. We estimate that 88% of these wild foods are collected directly from forests. Accounting for uncertainties, we estimate the volume of wild foods collected from forests to be at least 238,000 m3 per year, 125% of the volume of sawnwood produced, or about 12 million large (20 L) collecting buckets. Volume collected was not strongly correlated with metrics of wealth, indicating ubiquitous consumption of wild foods; however, the most food insecure collected particularly high volumes of wild food. Pilot market surveys found local value chains for wild foods, indicating a potential for economic contribution. Our results underscore the value of data that can be disaggregated locally and indicate that national estimates of quantities of wild food collected from forests would be highly useful for designing forest policy and management strategies. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Contribution of local agrobiodiversity to complementary foods for 6 to 23 months old children in southern rural Benin

In rural Benin, malnutrition, especially micronutrient deficiencies, contrasts with a rich agrobiodiversity that abounds in cultivated or wild foods that are potential sources of micronutrients. This paradox leads us to examine the role of local agrobiodiversity in the diet of children living in two agroecological zones of southern Benin. This study involved 1,263 children aged 6-23 months from 17 randomly selected villages in Southern Benin. A multiple-pass 24-h recall method on two non-consecutive days with the estimation of the consumed portions was used to collect dietary intake data. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect socioeconomic and demographic data to explore factors driving agrobiodiversity food consumption, especially wild foods. Non-parametric analyses based on gamma distribution were performed to establish the effect of wild food consumption on vitamin A, calcium, iron, and zinc intakes. Conditional inference tree-classification models were performed to identify factors driving wild food consumption. Among a total of 48 local foods that were reported as consumed by children, 11 were from wild species. The contributions of total local agrobiodiversity to nutrient intake of complementary foods was between 49% (calcium) and 98% (vitamin A). Cultivated species contributed to local agrobiodiversity foods for 57% (calcium) and 96 % (zinc). The semi-domesticated species have a contribution of between 2% (zinc) and 35% (calcium) to nutrient intake. Wild species contribution to nutrient intake was between 1% (zinc) and 9% for vitamin C. Wild foods consumption correlated significantly and positively with calcium and vitamin A intakes among children. Socio-linguistic factors such as ethnicity and religion of the household head were determinants of wild food consumption. These findings suggest that sensitization on the nutritional importance of the wild foods including socio-linguistic factors may be necessary to promote wild foods’ consumption. This could be a good strategy to promote healthy diets in local communities. Key words: agroecological zone, micronutrients, local biodiversity, wild food, healthy diets, Benin

Role of Wild Food Environments for Cultural Identity, Food Security, and Dietary Quality in a Rural American State

Wild foods are primary components of traditional and Indigenous food systems that are valued for food security while being vulnerable to global change. This case study examines practices, experiences, and perceptions associated with wild food environments through a household survey in the rural American state of Montana. Findings highlight that wild food environments contribute to cultural identity, sense of place, food security, and dietary quality of surveyed households while being vulnerable to loss of traditional ecological knowledge as well as climate and land-use change. Of the 182 informants, 80% hunt, 83% fish, and 68% forage wild botanicals. More than half of the informants agreed that wild food procurement is part of their cultural identity (66%). Collectively, informants procure more than 172 wild food species with the most prevalent being deer, waterfowl, elk, trout, bass, a range of berries, mushrooms, and botanicals used medicinally. Participants have a multidimensional value system where wild food procurement is valued for diets, recreation, family time, spirituality, and connection to the environment. The majority of participants agreed that the consumption of wild foods contributes to the nutritional quality (87%) and diversity (82%) of their diets while lowering food costs (59%). At least half of the informants reported observing changes in climate patterns over the past decade including increased temperature (50%) and more extreme and variable weather patterns (38%) that they perceive are impacting wild food environments including shifts in wild game, fish, and edible plant populations. Based on findings, we support that wild food environments and associated bio-cultural resources are a critical place to understand, conserve, and promote for nutrition. We thus advance the concept of “conservation for nutrition”. Community engagement, education, and policy plans are called for to promote wild food environments toward supporting sustainable diets and planetary health.

Estimating the potential of wild foods for nutrition and food security planning in tropical areas: Experimentation with a method in Northwestern Colombia

Wild foods contribute to the food security of multiple communities in tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, wild foods are not regularly considered in the planning of strategies for food and nutrition security mainly due to the lack of technical and/or scientific knowledge so that they can be considered suitable for human consumption. This paper proposes a multidisciplinary method that estimates the potential of wild foods as alternative resources when planning interventions in favour of food and nutrition security in tropical forest territories. When designing the method, four dimensions were identified in science, technology and innovation (STI) that define this potential as well as ten assessment criteria. The wild foods chosen for applying the method were Alibertia patinoi (a fruit commonly known as Borojó) and Proechimys semispinosus (Mouse of thorns), which are two of the main wild foods traditionally used by human communities in a tropical forest territory in the northwest of Colombia. In both cases, although there are significant advances in STI, compliance with some criteria is still required to regard them as viable alternatives for nutrition and food security within this territory. This research is useful for promoting the inclusion of wild food in food security programmes for communities where this food is already included in their traditional pattern of consumption and identifies the progress needed in STI to achieve this purpose. It may also promote the early recognition of possible traditional and cultural practices with high risk of transmission of pathogenic elements by the handling and/or inadequate consumption of wild foods. This early recognition could contribute to the prevention of diseases of wild animal origin, including those of rapid global spread.

Increasing Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and COVID-19: Time to Rethink Wild Food

The third pandemic has hit the globe during the last two decades repeating the zoonotic history of the viral out breaks. The current coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic first experienced from the Wuhan, Hubei, China during the late December 2019 has infected 9742302 people across the world with 492475 casualties till June 26, 2020 Before this, the pandemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012 has also adversely affected the humanity. The previous investigations about origin of SARS in 2002-2004 and MERS in 2012 rooted into zoonotic origin caused by bats and camels. The recent nightmare of COVID-19 once again has repeated the history of zoonotic origin and confirmed its origin from bats and pangolins. After 20 years, humanity is facing the music of same zoonotic viral infection as coronavirus adaptability to mutate and acclimatize in new wild hosts. This is mainly attributed to consumption of wild animals like bats, snakes, dogs, civet cats, raccoons and many more without any check globally. It’s the time to review the wild food consumption otherwise many such COVID pandemics would hit the humanity in future.

Scoping review of Paleolithic dietary patterns: a definition proposal.

The Paleolithic diet (PaleoDiet) is an allegedly healthy dietary pattern inspired by the consumption of wild foods and animals assumed to be consumed in the Paleolithic era. Despite gaining popularity in the media, different operational definitions of this Paleolithic nutritional intake have been used in research. Our hypothesis is that specific components used to define the PaleoDiet may modulate the association of this diet with several health outcomes. We comprehensively reviewed currently applied PaleoDiet scores and suggested a new score based on the food composition of current PaleoDiet definitions and the theoretical food content of a staple dietary pattern in the Paleolithic age. In a PubMed search up to December 2019, fourteen different PaleoDiet definitions were found. We observed some common components of the PaleoDiet among these definitions although we also found high heterogeneity in the list of specific foods that should be encouraged or banned within the PaleoDiet. Most studies suggest that the PaleoDiet may have beneficial effects in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, overweight/obesity, CVD and hyperlipidaemias) but the level of evidence is still weak because of the limited number of studies with a large sample size, hard outcomes instead of surrogate outcomes and long-term follow-up. Finally, we propose a new PaleoDiet score composed of eleven food items, based on a high consumption of fruits, nuts, vegetables, fish, eggs and unprocessed meats (lean meats); and a minimum content of dairy products, grains and cereals, and legumes and practical absence of processed (or ultra-processed) foods or culinary ingredients.

Food insecurity in South Africa: To what extent can social grants and consumption of wild foods eradicate hunger?

As the world continues to face widespread food insecurity, achieving food security for all at all times is increasingly complicated. In South Africa, social grants and the use of wild foods have been reported as some ways to improve household food insecurity and reduce poverty. The study examined if social grants and consumption of wild foods alleviate food insecurity in South Africa. Household surveys and focus group discussions were conducted along the rural-urban continuum in three South African towns situated along an agro-ecological gradient. We explored the differences in household food security indicators, mean monthly food expenditure and wealth index between households receiving social grants, households consuming wild foods, and those who did not. Households receiving social grants were more food insecure with lower mean monthly food expenditure and wealth index than those who did not. Overall all towns, the use of wild foods improved household food security which was not true within towns where wild foods were mostly consumed by low income and more food insecure households. Social grants alone cannot eradicate food insecurity as the money is not enough to cater for all household needs whilst wild foods can potentially alleviate household food insecurity. As food prices continue to increase gradually and worsening household food insecurity, ways to shift ‘income circumstances’ of households and promote the use and consumption of wild foods which may increase dietary diversity and diversifying food access. Focus should be placed on capacity building, employment creation and promoting awareness on own food production which is one way to improve food security of poor households rather than depending on purchases from the grant money alone.

Impacts of rice intensification on rural households in the Mekong Delta: emerging relationships between agricultural production, wild food supply and food consumption

Rice intensification programs target poverty reduction and improved food availability in Asia. Vietnam adopted a rice intensification policy aimed at a rice surplus for export by the 1990s. The intensification policy replaced an annual wet season crop with two to three High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice crops a year. These multiple annual crops required changes in hydraulic systems in areas such as the Mekong Delta (MD) with the introduction of low and high dikes for wet season flood control and dry season irrigation. This study examines the impacts of rice intensification and hydraulic changes in the MD between the 1990s and 2000s on rural household food sources, both wild and cultivated. Across study sites representing three flood management regimes, 165 households were sampled for data on household demographics, the collection and consumption of fish, other aquatic animals, wild and cultivated vegetables and fruit, and other food sources. The results indicate that rice intensification programs and dike construction have significantly increased rice production. However, farm household catch, collection and consumption of wild foods has decreased. Household use of wild fish, other aquatic animals, and wild vegetables was reduced significantly over the period. Significant wet and dry season variation in food availability emerged. Poor households experienced most loss. Overall household food security was affected. This study suggests that rice intensification policies aimed at global food security need to balance wider population access to a food staple with the need for rice farming communities to maintain access to high quality wild foods obtained from the fields and waterways of rice farming landscapes.

2014 Dahlberg Award Winner The effects of dietary toughness on occlusopalatal variation in savanna baboons

This study investigates the relationship between dietary toughness and craniofacial variation in two groups of savanna baboons. Standard craniofacial and malocclusion data were collected from a captive, soft-diet experiment group (n=24) and a sample of wild-captured baboons, raised on tougher, natural foods (n=19). We tested the hypothesis that in the absence of normal masticatory stress experienced during the consumption of wild foods, the captive baboons would exhibit higher levels of facial and dental structural irregularities. Principal component analysis indicates separation of the two samples. The soft-diet sample exhibits significantly shorter palates, greater variability in palate position, and higher frequencies of occlusal irregularities that correlate with the shorter palates. Results offer further support that long-term dietary chewing stresses have a measurable effect on adult craniofacial variation.

Wild Food Harvesting and Access by Household and Generation in the Talamanca Bribri Indigenous Territory, Costa Rica

We contribute to a growing body of literature on wild food harvesting by examining culturally specific relationships with wild food, the extent and frequency of wild food use in forests, and young people’s wild food consumption. We gathered qualitative data in the Talamanca Bribri Territory, Costa Rica, using participant observation, interviews, and household surveys. We found that wild food consumption was related to nutrition, health, religious beliefs, identity, dietary variety, and resource availability. Consumption occurred in all households and its frequency depended upon opportunities to harvest and/or access to sharing networks. In all households, younger members consumed wild plants and in most households they also ate wild meat. All households harvested their own plants but not all households harvested their own meat. Consequently, sharing was relatively more common for meat than plants. Lastly, sharing was important for older and younger generations and women who lacked opportunities to harvest food due to health, time, school, and work constraints. Our results can be used to design forest management policies that respect community access to wild food.

“Is it still safe to eat traditional food?” Addressing traditional food safety concerns in aboriginal communities

Food insecurity is a growing concern for indigenous communities worldwide. While the risk of heavy metal contamination associated to wild food consumption has been extensively studied in the Arctic, data are scarce for the Boreal zone. This study addressed the concerns over possible heavy metal exposure through consumption of traditional food in four Anishnaabeg communities living in the Eastern North American boreal forest. Liver and meat samples were obtained from 196 snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) trapped during winter 2012 across the traditional lands of the participating communities and within 56–156km of a copper smelter. Interviews were conducted with 78 household heads to assess traditional food habits, focusing on snowshoe hare consumption. Concentrations in most meat and liver samples were below the detection limit for As, Co, Cr, Ni and Pb. Very few meat samples had detectable Cd and Hg concentrations, but liver samples had mean dry weight concentrations of 3.79mg/kg and 0.15mg/kg respectively. Distance and orientation from the smelter did not explain the variability between samples, but percent deciduous and mixed forest cover had a marginal negative effect on liver Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations. The estimated exposition risk from snowshoe hare consumption was low, although heavy consumers could slightly exceed recommended Hg doses. In accordance with the holistic perspective commonly adopted by indigenous people, the nutritional and sociocultural importance of traditional food must be considered in risk assessment. Traditional food plays a significant role in reducing and preventing serious health issues disproportionately affecting First Nations, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Direct contributions of dry forests to nutrition: a review

Globally, micronutrient deficiencies are more prevalent than calorie and protein deficiencies. In order to address global micronutrient deficiencies, increasing attention is being paid to the nutritional quality of people's diets. While conventional agriculture is key for ensuring adequate calories, dietary quality depends on the consumption of a diverse range of micronutrient rich foods. Many wild foods are rich in micronutrients, particularly fruits, vegetables, and animal source food. As a result there has been increasing interest in the value of wild foods to meeting nutritional requirements.We review literature on the consumption of wild foods in dry forest areas to assess the current state of knowledge as to how dry forests may contribute to nutrition. We focus on papers that quantify consumption of wild forest foods. Although there is a great deal of literature that lends weight to the notion that dry forests are important for food security and nutrition, we find surprisingly little evidence of direct contributions to diets. Of 2514 articles identified by our search, only four quantify the consumption of wild foods from dry forests, and only one of these puts this consumption in the context of the entire diet. There is a need for research on the nutritional importance of dry forest foods which combines methodologies from nutrition science with an understanding and appreciation of the ecological, social, cultural and economic context.

Elevated Contaminants Contrasted with Potential Benefits of ω-3 Fatty Acids in Wild Food Consumers of Two Remote First Nations Communities in Northern Ontario, Canada

Indigenous communities in Boreal environments rely on locally-harvested wild foods for sustenance. These foods provide many nutritional benefits including higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; such as ω-3) than what is commonly found in store-bought foods. However, wild foods can be a route of exposure to dietary mercury and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Here, we show a strong association between the frequency of wild food consumption in adults (N = 72) from two remote First Nations communities of Northern Ontario and environmental contaminants in blood (POPs) and hair (mercury). We observed that POPs and mercury were on average 3.5 times higher among those consuming wild foods more often, with many frequent wild food consumers exceeding Canadian and international health guidelines for PCB and mercury exposures. Contaminants in locally-harvested fish and game from these communities were sufficiently high that many participants exceeded the monthly consumption limits for methylmercury and PCBs. Those consuming more wild foods also had higher proportions of potentially beneficial ω-3 fatty acids including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These results show that the benefits of traditional dietary choices in Boreal regions of Canada must be weighed against the inherent risks of contaminant exposure from these foods.

Wild Food, Prices, Diets and Development: Sustainability and Food Security in Urban Cameroon

This article analyses wild food consumption in urban areas of Cameroon. Building upon findings from Cameroon’s Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) this case study presents empirical data collected from 371 household and market surveys in Cameroonian cities. It employs the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food’s framework for understanding challenges related to the availability, accessibility, and adequacy of food. The survey data suggest that many wild/traditional foods are physically available in Cameroonian cities most of the time, including fruits, vegetables, spices, and insects. Cameroonians spend considerable sums of their food budget on wild foods. However, low wages and the high cost of city living constrain the social and economic access most people have to these foods. The data also suggest that imports of non-traditional staple foods, such as low cost rice, have increasingly priced potentially more nutritious or safe traditional local foods out of markets after the 2008 food price crisis. As a result, diets are changing in Cameroon as the resource-constrained population continues to resort to the coping strategy of eating cheaper imported foods such as refined rice or to eating less frequently. Cameroon’s nutrition transition continues to be driven by need and not necessarily by the preferences of Cameroonian consumers. The implications of this reality for sustainability are troubling.

Dietary practices in isolated First Nations communities of northern Canada: combined isotopic and lipid markers provide a good qualitative assessment of store-bought vs locally harvested foods consumption

OBJECTIVE:In First Nations communities of northwestern Ontario, where rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus are some of the highest in the world, ascertaining wild food dietary practices is extremely challenging owing to seasonal availability, environmental factors, life circumstances and language/cultural barriers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether analysis of isotopic and fatty acid (FA) profiles could provide more comprehensive information to discriminate between three categories of wild food consumption (that is, plants and animals) in two isolated First Nations communities of northwestern Ontario. In addition, this analysis also highlights whether wild food consumption as practiced in these two communities can increase circulating levels of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs), which provide a number of important metabolic benefits that could impact the prevention/treatment of T2DM.RESULTS:13C enrichment (in expired CO2, plasma and hair), 15N enrichment (in hair) and FA profiles in plasma phospholipids (phospholipid fatty acid (PL-FA)) were quantified in men and in women consuming various amounts of wild food. 13C/12C ratios were lower and 15N/14N ratios were higher in participants consuming wild food at least once a week. In addition, FA results indicated that the relative contributions of 20:4 Ω-6 and 22:6 Ω-3 to total PL-FAs were higher and 18:2 Ω-6 lower in wild food consumers.CONCLUSION:Together, these findings confirm that isotopic and lipid markers discriminate between the different wild food categories in these two First Nations communities. Knowing the close relationship between dietary intake and the potential role of PUFA in the prevention/treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases, it is critical to accurately measure the composition of diet for individuals in their specific environments.

Effects of perfluorooctanesulfonate exposure on plasma lipid levels in the Inuit population of Nunavik (Northern Quebec)

Background Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) was used as a surfactant in various commercial products. In rodents, exposure to this compound induced various health effects, including hypolipidemia. In human populations, the potential toxicity of PFOS is not yet fully characterized, but indications of effects on lipids are reported. A recent study reported an increase in plasma cholesterol associated with exposure to perfluorinated compounds in humans exposed through drinking water, but similar effects were not reported in all exposed human populations. PFOS is widely distributed in the environment, including the arctic biota. The Inuit of Nunavik are exposed to environmental contaminants through the consumption of fish and game. This diet is also a source of ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) that are known to lower plasma triacylglycerols. Objective This cross-sectional epidemiologic study aims at assessing the relationship between PFOS exposure and plasma lipids, while taking account of the concomitant hypolipidemic effect exerted by n-3 PUFAs. Methods Plasma concentrations of PFOS and lipids were assessed in Nunavik Inuit adults ( n=723) in the framework of a large-scale environmental health study. Associations of exposure levels to age, gender and selected wild food consumption associated with n-3 PUFAs intake, as well as the exposure on lipid levels were investigated by multivariate linear modeling. Results In the Inuit population, PFOS exposure and n-3 PUFAs intake are related to traditional food consumption. Triacylglycerol and ratio of total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were negatively associated with PFOS plasma levels, while HDL-C levels were positively associated, after adjustment for circulating levels of n-3 PUFAs and for the interaction between gender and PFOS plasma levels. Other plasma lipids, such as low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and non-HDL-C were not related to PFOS plasma concentrations. Conclusion The results of this study show a relationship between PFOS and plasma lipid levels in an environmentally exposed human population, and this effect appears distinct from that of n-3 PUFAs.

Neolithic Diet at the Brochtorff Circle, Malta

From Neolithic Malta, there is evidence of increasing population size accompanied by increasingly elaborate material culture, including the famous megalithic architecture. Stoddart et al. (1993) argued that social tensions and controls increased as food resources diminished. One important requirement of this argument is that the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta depended entirely on domesticated plants and animals for subsistence and therefore, with increased population sizes, the poor agricultural potential of these islands was stretched. However, it is possible that the consumption of wild foods, particularly marine resources, in the Neolithic would make up any shortfall in the agricultural foods. A direct way of measuring the amounts of marine protein in human diets is through chemical analysis of human bone. Stable isotope analyses undertaken on seven Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon dated humans from the Neolithic at the Brochtorff Circle indicated that there is no evidence for the significant use of marine foods by these Neolithic individuals. These new data indicate that agricultural foods were the dietary staple for this sample of the Maltese Neolithic population and therefore support the argument that increasing population during the Neolithic could have resulted in increasing resource stress.