For some Greenlanders, eating sugar is healthy

Date:
December 22, 2021
Source:
University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science
Summary:
A genetic variation among some Greenlanders makes sugar healthy - -
significantly more than for most people. According to a new study,
gut bacteria and a unique diet that has nourished Greenlanders for
millennia have provided them with a genetic variation that offers
an incredible advantage.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Imagine being able to swap out broccoli for sweets, Ben & Jerry's or some
other sugary treat and achieve the same health benefits. This is fact
not fantasy for about two to three percent of the Greenlandic population.


==========================================================================
Two copies of a gene variant make it so that they absorb sugar differently
than other people do.

"Adult Greenlanders with the genetic variation have lower BMI, weight,
fat percentage, cholesterol levels and are generally significantly
healthier. They have less belly fat and might find it easier to get a
six pack. It is amazing and surprising that a genetic variation has such
a profoundly beneficial effect," says University of Copenhagen biology professor Anders Albrechtsen.

Along with colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the University
of Southern Denmark and a number of research institutions and public
agencies in Greenland, Professor Albrechtsen analysed data from 6,551
adult Greenlanders and conducted experiments on mice.

The results demonstrate that carriers of the genetic variation have
what is known as sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, meaning that they have
a peculiar way of metabolizing sugar in the intestine. Simply put, they
do not absorb ordinary sugar in the bloodstream the way people without
the genetic variation do.

Instead, sugar heads directly into their intestine.

"Here, gut bacteria convert the sugar into a short-chain fatty acid called acetate, which in previous studies has been shown to reduce appetite,
increase metabolism and boost the immune system. That is most likely
the mechanism happening here," explains Mette K. Andersen, an assistant professor at the Center for Metabolism Research at the University of
Copenhagen and first author of the study.



==========================================================================
Why genetic variation is widespread among Greenlanders The reason for
this widespread genetic variation among Greenlanders is due to a diet
that has stood out from that of the rest of the world for millennia.

"It is probably due to Greenlanders not having had very much sugar in
their diet. For the most part, they have eaten meat and fat from fish,
whales, seals and reindeer. A single crowberry may have crept in here
and there, but their diet has had minimal sugar content," says Anders Albrechtsen.

He adds that this has made the genetic variation frequent, as there has
never been a need to absorb sugar rapidly in the bloodstream.

Genetic variation is tough on children While the variation has clear
health benefits for adult Greenlanders, it is problematic for their
children.



========================================================================== "Younger carriers of the variation experience negative consequences due to their different type of sugar absorption. For them, consuming sugar causes diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating. Our guess is that as they age,
their gut bacteria gradually get used to sugar and learn how to convert
it into energy," explains Torben Hansen, a doctor and professor at the University of Copenhagen's Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research.

He and the research team hope that they can use the results of their new
study to lay the groundwork for developing new drugs that might one day
be used to treat cardiovascular disease and obesity.

"We can see that the genetic variation provides a better balance of
fat in the bloodstream, which results in lower weight and consequently,
fewer cardiovascular diseases. If you can develop a drug that inhibits
the sucrase- isomaltase gene, then in principle, we might all be able
to have equally strong health profiles," he concludes.

Notes Dietary experiments on mice
* Beyond the deployment of health data from 6,551 Greenlanders,
researchers
supplemented their study with dietary experiments on mice. They
sought to investigate what happens in the intestines of people
with the genetic variation.

* To do so, they examined two groups of mice. One group had an
artificially
inhibited ability to absorb sugar, similar to the genetic
variation found among Greenlanders. The second group had normal
sugar absorption.

* Their results demonstrated that when mice with the inhibited ability
gained free access to a diet of fat and sugar, they gained only
half as much weight as the other group of mice. This confirms the
researchers' analysis of health data showing that the genetic
variation provides a range of health benefits, including lower
weight and BMI.

Health benefits in numbers The researchers' results show that Greenlanders
who carry two copies of the genetic variation, known as sucrase-isomaltase
-- one from both their parents - - have on average:
* Lower BMI, approx. -- 2 kg/m^2 * Lower weight, approximately -- 4.8
kg * Lower fat percentage, approximately -- 3.3 percentage points *
Less triglyceride (risk marker for cardiovascular disease and
cholesterol) in the blood -0.3 mmol/L ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Copenhagen_-_Faculty_of_Science. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Mette K. Andersen, Line Skotte, Emil Jo/rsboe, Ryan Polito,
Frederik F.

Staeger, Peter Aldiss, Kristian Hangho/j, Ryan K. Waples, Cindy G.

Santander, Niels Grarup, Inger K. Dahl-Petersen, Lars J. Diaz,
Maria Overvad, Ninna K. Senftleber, Bolette So/borg, Christina
V.L. Larsen, Clara Lemoine, Oluf Pedersen, Bjarke Feenstra, Peter
Bjerregaard, Mads Melbye, Marit E. Jo/rgensen, Nils J. Faergeman,
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 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211222100818.htm

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