Up until around 50 years ago, we didn’t know much of anything about omega-3 fatty acids. The big breakthrough didn’t come until 1971. That’s when researchers compared the eating patterns of Eskimos and Danish people up in Greenland.
What they learned is that the Eskimos had much lower rates of heart disease and a complete absence of diabetes compared to the Danish people. The Eskimos also had significantly lower concentrations of total lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides.
This brought the researchers to the realization that heart disease may not be as genetic as they previously believed. And they were right.