Food, nutrition, and health in Sápmi

• Sápmi is the Sami homeland in northernmost Fennoscandia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The traditional diet in Sápmi is based on wild plants and animals available in this Arctic area. From a micronutrient perspective, this means a diet rich in fat and protein and poor in carbohydrates and fiber; thus there is a discrepancy between the traditional diet in Sápmi and current dietary recommendations. Despite this, the Sami people are known to be the healthiest indigenous population worldwide. If this, fully or partly, can be explained by dietary factors, it is still unclear. Nutrition epidemiology studies focusing specifically on traditional Sami dietary patterns as determinants of health are rare. This chapter summarizes current knowledge on the health aspects of some dietary patterns, food items, and preparation techniques of relevance in Sápmi.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Traditional food

Dietary patterns

Sami

Sápmi

Public health

Wild plants

Wild berries

Fish

Game meat

Reindeer meat

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)