From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Apr 16 2003 - 21:19:47 MDT
Damien Sullivan wrote:
> Don't many Europeans, e.g. the French, eat diets rich in
> dairy and grain products? I know they're thinner than
> Americans and their life expectancy is fine, how's their
> diseases like strokes and heart attacks?
The French are in better health than Americans with respect to heart
attacks, and probably also ischemic stroke. I'm not sure about their score
with respect to hemorrhagic stroke.
In one study I've seen, the French were found to eat more fruits and veggies
and fish and fowl than the Brits, presumably at the expense of fatty red
meats and grains. This could very well explain their good health in
paleodiet terms. Also, as you mentioned, their moderate but chronic
consumption of red wine very likely helps.
> of course alcohol isn't part of the paleodiet either.
I wouldn't be so sure of that! The French likely benefit from the
antioxidants (polyphenols) in red wine but this may be only part of the
story. Surprisingly, moderate alcohol consumption was almost certainly a
staple of the paleolithic diet. It's extremely likely that hominids have
been eating fermented fruits for millions of years. Also organisms in our
gut are producing alcohol constantly. In fact we've evolved an enzyme for
the specific purpose of metabolizing alcohol (called alcohol dehydrogenase,
if memory serves). The evidence suggests very strongly that the human genome
expects modest amounts of alcohol.
-gts
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