From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Tue Jul 08 2003 - 19:45:51 MDT
The Dallas Morning News, Europe Bureau, By Gregory Katz, 7 July 2003
PARIS -- Does this diet seem healthful? Steak and other red meat
topped by heavy sauces, large helpings of salted French fries and
bread slathered with butter, plenty of wine with meals and a pack of
cigarettes a day. Breakfast, of course, is chocolate pastry.
It may sound like a recipe for heart disease, lung cancer and an
early death. But the French live on average at least one year longer
than Americans.
While many Americans are using skimmed milk in their cappuccino and
scouting out tasteless, low-fat muffins, the unperturbed French are
still eating rich, buttery croissants and drinking their morning
coffee with warm whole milk.
How can they eat all this saturated fat and live so long? What is
the reason for this anomaly, which doctors have dubbed the "French
paradox"? Are there lessons that extend beyond the boundaries of
France, where eating and drinking well are a national passion?
"It's the wine," said Jacky Larsonneur, who with his wife, France,
runs the small restaurant Je Thé Me in the Vaugirard neighborhood of
Paris. "The red wine is very important. It has calcium, magnesium,
potassium, all the mineral elements. You should have two or three
glasses of wine a day, with your meals."
It has become French custom to credit the health-giving properties of
red wine for the low rates of heart disease that are a contributor to
their longevity. It is a national credo that benefits the country's
many wine-producing regions and furthers the image of France as a
haven for enjoying the good life.
The view that red wine helps prevent heart disease has been supported
by numerous studies and endorsed by several leading cardiologists
throughout the world. Nonetheless, many doctors are reluctant to
advise patients to drink wine for fear of contributing to alcoholism.
The French believe the benefits of their diet extend beyond the wine
that is served with most meals. Many also believe that French food
is much less likely to be treated with additives and preservatives
than food found in American supermarkets. French consumers can
usually consume meat, produce and fruit grown locally.
"We have a lot of small markets here, and we can buy things very
carefully to make sure the meat doesn't have hormones added, and we
know how the meat has been raised and how the produce has been
grown," said Mrs. Larsonneur, interrupting her husband's impassioned
praise of red wine. "Here farming is done on a small scale, and the
food is much better."
The Larsonneurs, and many French people, agree that Americans simply
eat too much junk.
"We went to America and we could not eat like that," Mr. Larsonneur
said. "Americans eat things that are too sweet and too heavy and too
fat and soft drinks filled with additives. It's disgusting for a
French person to watch."
One indication of the commitment to fresh food can be found in the
fact that the Larsonneurs do not have a freezer at their
hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Freezing causes food to lose quality
and nutritional value, they believe.
Mrs. Larsonneur said the French also benefit because leisurely family
meals are still a tradition, even during the busy workweek. "We take
our time to prepare a very nice table, and we eat calmly and slowly,"
she said. "In the U.S. they eat on the street; they eat very fast.
I would rather not eat at all if I can't sit down. We may take an
hour and a half to eat. It's important for your equilibrium."
This attitude carries over to the business lunch. It is common in
central Paris to see men and women in suits lingering over their last
coffee and cigarettes after finishing a three-course meal. The
classic lunch is still steak and fries, often served with a fried egg
on top of the beef -- cholesterol be damned.
And don't expect them to skip dessert. Profiteroles, chocolate mouse
and scoops of rich Berthillon ice cream are popular. Another
cultural difference can be found in the attitude toward wine. While
American parents typically try to keep children from all alcohol,
French parents usually start giving their children sips of wine when
they are 5 or 6 years old.
Dr. Serge Renaud, a prominent cardiologist whose research has helped
establish a medical basis for the "French paradox", said there is now
conclusive statistical evidence showing that wine can help prevent
heart disease and reduce cancer rates.
"The polyphenols in wine have a very important antioxidant effect
throughout the body," he said. "But to be beneficial you have to
drink moderately -- for a man, two or three sizable glasses a day,
for a woman, one or two. And to be beneficial, you should drink it
with meals and not become intoxicated."
Some researchers believe the polyphenol molecules inhibit a peptide
called endothelin-1, which is known to contribute to heart disease by
causing blood vessels to narrow. Others, such as the late Dr.
Christiaan Barnard, a pioneer heart transplant surgeon, maintain that
the benefits of red wine cannot be easily understood and should
simply be enjoyed.
Skeptics say it is not surprising that Dr. Renaud of Bordeaux, famed
the world over for its quality wines, believes that wine has health
benefits. But Dr. Renaud cites many studies reported in prestigious
medical journals in the last 11 years to back his claim.
And he freely concedes that many French people drink far too much
wine, not only losing the beneficial effect but also descending into
life-threatening alcoholism. He said French life expectancy would be
even higher if many men did not die relatively early because of
alcohol abuse.
"If you drink five or six glasses a day, you lose the benefit to your
heart and your health; and if you drink more than that, it has a
negative effect," he said.
Dr. Renaud said the health benefits of wine can be amplified by
modifying eating habits to conform to the so-called Mediterranean
diet that emphasizes fish, whole grains, nuts, olive oil, fruits and
vegetables along with moderate wine consumption.
A survey of more than 22,000 Greeks released in late June found that
this diet led to a 33 percent reduction in the death rate from heart
disease and a 24 percent lowering of cancer rates. Doctors said the
findings emphasized the importance of diet for overall health, not
just the prevention of heart disease.
None of this is news to devotees of French wine.
Philippe Ansot gave up a career as a waiter to open a small wine shop
in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris. He credits French longevity
not just to the wine, but also to the overall quality of food that
the French consume. He said they identify with their food and wine
in a way that other cultures do not.
"These local foods and products bring a lot of pleasure," he said.
"The whole idea of taking pride in local cuisine and getting pleasure
from locally raised food in combination with a local wine creates a
kind of joy that maybe Americans don't have. It creates a universe
in which you really live well."
But there are indications that this healthy French lifestyle is
starting to fade. A new study of 25,700 people released in June
indicated that more and more French are overweight, in part because a
sedentary lifestyle is taking hold. The study found that more
children eat fast food and spend their free time watching television
or playing computer games.
Doctors analyzing the results predicted that rates of heart disease,
diabetes and other serious illnesses probably would rise in the
coming decades as a result. In effect, this would mean the end of
the French paradox.
It's a change that can be seen on the streets of Paris, said Mrs.
Larsonneur, the restaurant ownder who believes in serving the
freshest of foods. She has started to notice women carrying home
ready-made dinners and -- horrors! -- frozen food from the
supermarket.
"We are trying to keep the traditions, but things are changing," she said.
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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