Factors associated with the intake of traditional foods in theEeyou Istchee(Cree) of northern Quebec include age, speaking the Cree language and food sovereignty indicators

Abstract

The Eeyouch are a First Nations (Cree) population that live above 49.6°N latitude in Eeyou Istchee in northern Quebec. Eeyouch rely on traditional foods (TF) hunted, fished or gathered from the land. The overarching aim of this study was to achieve an understanding of the factors associated with TF intake among Eeyouch. Data were from 465 women and 330 men who participated in the Nituuchischaayihtitaau Aschii Multi-Community Environment-and-Health (E&H) study. The relationship between TF consumption and dietary, health, sociodemographic and food sovereignty (i.e. being a hunter or receiving Income Security to hunt, trap or fish) variables was examined using linear and logistic regression. Analyses were stratified by sex because of the male/female discrepancy in being a hunter. Among respondents, almost all (99.7%) consumed TF, 51% were hunters and 10% received Income Security. Higher intake of TF was associated with lower consumption of less nutritious ultra-processed products (UPP). In women, TF intake increased with age, hunting and receiving Income Security, but decreased with high school education. In men, TF intake increased with age and speaking only Cree at home. The findings suggest that increased food sovereignty would result in improved diet quality among Eeyouch through increased TF intake and decreased UPP intake.

Traditional Food, Health, and Diet Quality in Syilx Okanagan Adults in British Columbia, Canada

“…This nutrition transition to a "Western diet" is a consequence of multiple colonial policies that forcibly led to diminished traditional food harvesting and more sedentary lifestyles [4,5]. This dietary shift has resulted in excessive intakes of energy, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium and inadequate intakes of several nutrients (e.g., dietary fibre; calcium; iron; folate; and vitamins A, D, and E), which, coupled with physical inactivity, has led to a high prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and overall ill health [3,[6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Despite significant nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental changes, TF remain vital for many First Nations peoples, because they contribute important nutrients to the diet even when consumed in small amounts [3,8,[12][13][14]. In addition, eating TF continues to be important for First Nations people's spiritual, cultural, social, psychological, and economic well-being [3,4].…”

Health measures of Eeyouch (Cree) who are eligible to participate in the on-the-land Income Security Program in Eeyou Istchee (northern Quebec, Canada)

“…It has long been established that Indigenous community members in northern regions who consume traditional foods high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have a significantly reduced risk of vascular diseases [ 6 , 7 , 29 , 32 ]. Studies have demonstrated that when Indigenous community members revert to a traditional cultural lifestyle – even for intermittent periods – their risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic problems decreases significantly because animals available to the hunter and/or trapper are low in undesirable fat with higher levels of beneficial fatty acids [ 58 , 69 , 78 , 79 , 83 , 88 ]. In our study, we determined that those eligible for participation in the ISP have significantly higher omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels compared to those ineligible for the ISP, which likely indicates that eligible participants are eating more fish, as fish is highest in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids [ 88 ].…”

“…Unadjusted-regression models with only one of the health measure variables and multivariable regression models using the same health measure variables, adjusted for age and sex, were carried out to assess the potential associations of ISP eligibility status of each participant with the health measures. Age and sex were included as covariates in the adjusted model as methylmercury is bioaccumulative [ 8 ] and men are more likely to be hunters and fishers compared to women [ 78 ]. Furthermore, smoking status was used to adjust the inflammatory marker models in addition to age and sex [ 61 ].…”

Association between exposure to persistent organic pollutants and mercury, and glucose metabolism in two Canadian Indigenous populations

“…Thus, despite the many benefits of traditional foods, some of them can also be a source of exposure to environmental contaminants, especially predatory fish and marine mammals that are at the top of the food chain. Whereas several fish species are often consumed by different Indigenous communities, marine mammals are almost uniquely consumed by Inuit communities (Noreen et al 2018;Lemire et al, 2015). This translates into a high exposure to mercury and PCBs, but also to elevated intakes of marine food nutrients, such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron, selenium, iodine and lipophilic vitamins, in Inuit communities (AMAP, 2015;Lemire et al, 2015;Laird et al, 2013).…”