diet and health. They argue that it is related to Fran-
ce’s history of lower animal fat intakes rather then
their consumption of red wine. Up to 1970, the French
ate less animal fat and had significantly lower blood
cholesterol levels than the British. Now French habits
are changing, they are eating more meat and fast foods
and their consumption of animal fat is similar to those
in Britain. The 1999 National Survey on Individual
Food in France by the Research Center for the Study
and Monitoring of Living Standards shows that
between 1950 and 1980 the consumption of meat fat
and oils doubled and alcohol intake halved. The rate
ofobesityin France has also increased from 8% in
1997 to 12% (The 2003 National Health and Wellness
Survey by Consumer Health Sciences) and over 40%
of the French are now considered overweight, not far
off the 50% figure for the British and Americans. They
say it takes 25-35 years for increased fat intakes to
translate into heart disease and it is only a matter of
time before France faces the obesity epidemics and
CHD rates that began in America and Britain nearly
20 years ago.Resources
BOOKS
Guiliano, Mireille.French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret
of Eating for PleasureKnopf, 2004. A non-diet book on
how to eat with balance, control and pleasure, including
recipes.
Lewis, Perdue.The French Paradox and Beyond: Living
Longer with Wine and the Mediterranean Lifestyle
Renaissance Publishing, 1992.Backed by Dr. Curtis
Ellison, Chief, Department of Preventive Medicine and
Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine a
supporter of the French Paradox, this book describes
the benefits of the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Mayle, Peter.A Year in ProvenceVintage Reprint edition,
1991 A light-hearted autobiography as well as a travel/
restaurant guide and cultural study of the south ofFrance by a British businessman who gives Britain up it
and buys a house in Provence with his wife and two dogs
PERIODICALS
Boffetta P and Garefinkel L. ‘‘Alcohol drinking among men
enrolled in an American Cancer Society prospective
study’’Epidemiology1990, 1(5), 42–48
Corder R, Mullen W, Khan NQ, MArks SC, Wood EG,
Carrier MJ and Crozier A.‘‘Red wine procyanidins and
vascular health’’NatureNovember 2006, 444,566
Doll R, et al. ‘‘Mortality in relation to consumption of
alcohol: 13 years observations on male British doctors’’
British Medical Journal1994, 309, 911–918
Feigelson H‘‘Alcohol Consumption Increases The Risk Of
Fatal Breast Cancer’’Cancer Causes and Control
December 2002
Gunzerath L, Faden V, Zakhari S, and Warren, K ‘‘National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism report on
moderate drinking’’Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimen-
tal ResearchDecember, 2004 28(6) 829–847
Keys A. ‘‘Coronary Heart Disease in Seven Countries’’Cir-
culation1970, 41(Suppl I):I-1–I-211
Law M, Wald N. ‘‘Why heart disease mortality is low in
France: the time lag explanation’’British Medical
Journal1999, 318:1471–1480
McElduff P and Dobson AJ ‘‘How much alcohol and how
often? Population based case-control study of alcohol
consumption and risk of a major coronary event pro-
spective study’’British Medical Journal1997; 314: 1159
Mukamal KJ, Ascherio A, Mittleman MA et al. ‘‘Alcohol
and risk for ischemic stroke in men: the role of drinking
patterns and usual beverage’’Annals of Internal Medi-
cine2005,142:11–19
Thun MJ, Peto R, Lopez AD, Monaco JH, Henley SJ,
Heath CW and Doll R. ‘‘Alcohol consumption and
mortality among middle-aged and elderly U.S. adults’’
New England Journal of Medicine1997, 337: 1705–1714
ORGANIZATIONS
American Heart Association (AHA). National Center, 7272
Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 7523 USA. Website:
<http://www.americanheart.org/>>
American Dietetic Association (ADA). 120 South Riverside
Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995 USA.
Website:<http://www.eatright.org/>
British Heart Foundation (BHF).14 Fitzhardinge Street,
London W1H 6DH, UK. Website:<http://
http://www.bhf.org.uk/>
European Society of Cardiology. The European Heart
House, 2035 Route des Colles 2035 Route des Colles,
B.P. 179 - Les Templiers, F-06903 Sophia Antipolis,
France. Website:<http://www.escardio.org/>
Food Standards Agency UK (FSA). Eat well Be well, Healthy
Heart Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B
6NH UK. Website:<http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/>
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA). 5635 Fishers Lane, MSC 9304, Bethesda,
MD 20892-9304 USA. Website:<http://www.niaaa.
nih.gov/>QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR
DOCTOR What does moderate drinking mean?
How much red wine should I be drinking?
What health problems are associated with
drinking?
Can I drink when I am pregnant?
What does one unit of alcohol include?
Can I save all my daily alcohol units for the
weekend?French paradox