Explorer and chef Mike Keen will embark on a 200-mile journey across Greenland, accompanied by a sled dog and feeding exclusively on decomposing seal meat. His goal is to replicate the traditional Inuit diet, which is 98% meat, to study how the gut microbiome changes when shifting from a Western diet to this extreme regimen.
Fecal science: the extreme menu as a microbiome laboratory 🧪
Keen will collect his own fecal samples and those of his dog during the month-long expedition. Researchers will analyze how the Inuit diet, rich in animal fats and proteins, transforms the gut flora. This study aims to understand the effects of an ancestral diet on the microbiome, contrasting it with the modern Western diet. The data could reveal metabolic adaptations and changes in bacterial diversity, offering clues about diseases associated with current eating habits.
A chef's dinner: aged seal and a dog as a food critic 🐕
While Keen savors his menu of putrid seal meat, his sled dog will be the only diner who won't complain about the dish. Of course, when the chef returns to London and orders a rare steak, the waiter might ask if he wants it buried for a few days first to get it just right. Science marches on, but the explorer's palate will likely need a several-month detox.