Racially Determined Abnormal Essential Fatty Acid and Prostaglandin Metabolism and Food Allergies Linked to Autoimmune, Inflammatory, and Psychiatric Disorders Among Coastal British Columbia Indians

British Columbia Coastal Indians possess abnormal patterns of essential fatty acid (EFA) and prostaglandin (PGE) metabolism as racially determined genetic traits, probably a consequence of evolving for tens of thousands of years on a diet extremely rich in EFA's. EFA metabolism abnormalities and unusual epidemiological patterns suggest fundamental pathologies so subtle as to be obscured in other groups, yet readily observable among these Indians. It is hypothesized that eicosapentaenoic acid and prostaglandin El deficiencies predispose Coastal Indians to food allergies which in turn predispose them to autoimmune, inflammatory, and psychiatric disorders.