Compared to an American, the average Frenchman consumes about 108 grams of fat, four times more butter, 60% more cheese and nearly three times more pork on a daily basis. The French consumption of alcohol on an annual per capita basis is 11.4 litres per year, whereas America’s alcohol consumption is a comparatively low 8.6 litres per year. However, among males aged 35-74, 115 Americans in 100,000 would have died from heart disease, whereas in France, just 83 Frenchmen in 100,000 would have suffered from heart disease.
In short, the French eat more, drink more and smoke more, yet they are healthier and have a longer lifespan than people from other developed countries.
Welcome to the glorious world of the French paradox.
The French paradox is a wonderful theory that I happened to come across during my travels in France. The theory itself is so absurdly and adorably French – it’s as if this was the evidence they needed to prove their greatness.
Dr. Serge Renaud, a wine-loving Professor of Nutrition from Bordeaux University, France, was the first to coin the term after completing his groundbreaking report that linked France’s low rate of heart disease with wine consumption. Dr. Renaud believes that red wine, when consumed in moderation, actually benefits your health due to the antioxidant action of polyphenol compounds found in the grapes. These antioxidant agents are the superheroes in your body that defend against the wrath of cancer cells and heart ailments.
So for those who practice the belief “A wine a day keeps the doctor away”, you should be making personal offerings of gratitude to Dr Serge Renaud.
Cheers!
Serious studies continue as it slowly unravels the mystery surrounding the French Paradox. Another widely accepted theory is the French love for outdoor leisure and exercise – especially walking and bicycling. In France, you’ll notice that everyone loves to walk or ride everywhere, especially in Paris where you can occasionally witness packs of rollerblading hobbyists clog up the streets and cause major gridlock during the weekday rush hour.
French author Mireille Guiliano argues in her No.1 Bestseller, French Women Don’t Get Fat, that the French paradox essential boils down to the diet. She explains that the key factors for French women staying stunningly slim and petite are due to:
- Smaller portion sizes.
- Savouring each bite of your meal, allowing the stomach to digest easily.
- Only consuming three meals a day with no snacking in between.
- Consuming plenty of liquid such as water, tea and soup.
- Eating mindfully as you sit down and enjoy your meal. There should be no multitasking such as standing, watching TV or reading involved while you eat.
- Emphasizing the freshness of the ingredients.
Now, you can choose to believe the hard facts based on scientific research, or like me, you can simply embrace the anomalies of the French and just accept the obnoxiously French saying; Impossible n’est pas Francais – Impossible is not a French word.
Reblogged this on Walexmarceva's Blog.
You can eat pretty much whatever you want as long as you balance it out with an active lifestyle. The French have many popular leisure activities while most Americans favorite past time is sitting in front of the TV. The results speak for themselves. Thanks for the info.
Yeah I totally agree, enjoy everything in moderation.
But i just love to think of the fact that if you are French, you’re practically invincible lol
“it’s as if this was the evidence they needed to prove their greatness”…
This assertion annoys me because I never met a single French aware of this “greatness” about food and health . I never heard in France of this “French paradox”, it only exists in Anglo-Saxon minds, as well as these absurd “French” kiss, fries, moustaches, striped shirts, berets, sacrebleu and oulala .
Although French way of living and thinking are rapidly disappearing, some bits of knowledge still survive for a while in collective consciousness, and relationship with food still keeps some ancient wisdom . But nobody in France thinks there’s something great in that, in fact, apart from travelers, nobody even know there’s something special in it .
Thanks for the comment.
I hope your aware that my tone was in a joking light-hearted manner, and was not intended to cause any offense.
It’s funny you say that about the French not being aware of this “greatness” – have you looked into the politics of France? Many of my French friends also feel the same way about the whole french pride, that it’s completely studpid and completely arrogant. Having said that, we all share a laugh about it and never take it seriously.
I did write that there wasn’t anything special in this theory, again its only a theory and that there are some scientific facts as to why heart disease is low in France compared to USA.
Keep on reading and critising!
Wanders, I said nobody is aware of that “greatness” concerning food and its relationship with health, not concerning other subjects, if you read carefully .
Regarding the politics of France, it is decided by a small group of people, including Sarkozy for instance, and it’s not fair to assimilate the French to their government . We don’t feel the same contempt and hostility towards the American people as towards the US “government”, and in France more than elsewhere, people consider the government as an enemy of the majority and not a spokesman of the French .
Now I admit a part of the French population used to think France was better than other countries . I said “used to” because things are changing incredibly fast here, and French mind and customs are disappearing really fast in the new globalization era . People under 40 have seemingly no idea of what French ideals and ideas were in the past .
But I know some of the world, and there’s always been some deep certainty in English minds about the real superiority of English way of being compared to everybody else . In most American minds this certainty is even more obvious . If you consider the Chinese or the Japanese, they think other people are Barbarians, even if their social code prevents them from saying it to us .
So I don’t see how the French could be worse . You say you travelled in France . If you met enough average people, you should be able to make a neat difference between the gesticulations of a pseudo government of France and what basic French people think .
It’s true that to know the French you have to stay long enough, not in touristic places, and you need to speak the language . This is true for everywhere, but France and the French are the subject of so many unknowing, childish or just dumb comments on the Anglophone internet it is a major source of annoyance . Your article is not of this kind, and what you say of heart diseases is true, I just wanted to correct a wrong minor point conveying a major stereotype .