Then, in 1991, Renaud was asked on US television for his explanation of the "French paradox"the lower-than-expected coronary mortality in France. Lancet. In the seven countries study, at a cholesterol value of 5.2 mmol/l, the CHD mortality rates were five times higher in northern Europe than in Mediterranean southern Europe. 90% of the book is the author pushing people to drink alcohol. It refers to the fact that, despite consuming a diet high. Indeed, alcohol consumption and associated lifestyles may have an effect on CHD above and beyond their impact on lipids. In representative cross sectional surveys of the French population performed in 198687 and 199597, the saturated fat intake was 15% of the total energy intake in the first survey and 16% in the latter survey. It seems that red wine and the Mediterranean diet may confer an additional protective effect. Serge Renaud: from French paradox to Cretan miracle - The Lancet So controlled trials support the role of a healthier diet in cardiovascular health rather than red wine consumption alone. The first source of error could come from an underestimated CHD mortality. Tough choice. Diet and alcohol in heart disease risk: the French Paradox. French paradox, coronary heart disease; alcohol; cholesterol. The Indo-Mediterranean diet heart study16 randomised 1000 patients with CHD or surrogate risk factors to either a diet rich in whole grains, fruit, vegetables, walnuts, and almonds, or their local diet. However, the differential effects of wine, beer, and spirits have been examined. So, was it really wine that was the key to explain the French paradox? The French Paradox. Clin Cardiol. The French Paradox was coined from an epidemiological observational study in 1992 . This review has not discussed the role of genetic factors, despite the fact that geneenvironmental interactions are probably fundamental in atherosclerosis. What I Think About the French Paradox - Medium And it is a . Lancet. They called this the French paradox. There was, however, a difference; in France, they would also drink more red wine. Limitations of correlational studies are the inability to link exposure with disease in particular individuals, the lack of ability to control the effects of potential confounding factors, and the use of average exposure levels rather than actual individual values. Epidemiological studies indicate that consumption of alcohol at the level of intake in France (20-30 g per day) can reduce risk of CHD by at least 40%. already built in. It is wrong to assume that saturated fat is all that matters to predict cardiovascular risk, since we know very well that it is just one of the many dietary factors involved. In particular, the benefits of red wine come in three distinct categories: the wine's fermented alcohol content, the presence of resveratrol, and abundant procyanidins. PMC The Alcohol Paradox | 2007-03-01 | AHC Media: Continuing Medical Everybody loved the French paradox. The French Paradox at 20 - Valley Table Plot of death rate from coronary heart disease (1977) correlated with daily dietary intake (from 1976 to 1978) of cholesterol and saturated fat as expressed by the cholesterol fat index (CSI) per 1000 kcal. FOIA Again, wine consumption appeared to counteract the untoward effects of saturated fats, to use the words of the authors. This diet consists largely of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil, with limited amounts of lean protein from fish and poultry. The .gov means its official. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The French paradox concept should foster research on protective CHD risk factors while conveying, in primary prevention, messages promoting healthy behaviour such as regular physical exercise, optimal diet, and life without smoking. And it is dead wrong to suggest that drinking a few glasses of red wine is all you need to make it better. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The French Paradox. Ainsi, en 2015, un article paru dans la revue la Presse mdicale recommandait de boire 1 2 verres. Nevertheless, the French paradox refers to primary prevention and to lifestyles firmly rooted in countries with low CHD incidence. Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart disease. Since alcohol does have some fibrinolitic and atheroprotective effects, and red wine contains some protective polyphenols, such as resveratrols that come straight from red grapes, they hypothesized that higher red wine consumption could explain the apparent paradox. Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart French Paradox, Alcohol, and Health Related Concerns @article{Ghahremani2021FrenchPA, title={French Paradox, Alcohol, and Health Related Concerns}, author={Hossein Ghahremani and Siamak Salami}, journal={International Journal of Cancer Management}, year={2021} } References Although the French consume only slightly more total fat (171 g/d vs 157 g/d), they consume much more saturated fat because Americans consume a much larger proportion of fat in the form of vegetable oil, with most of that being soybean oil. The controversy it generated in 1991 still influences the wine-alcohol-heart debate today. French Paradox, Alcohol, and Health Related Concerns diet and alcohol in heart disease risk: the french paradoxabsorption of three wine-related polyphenols in three different matrices by healthy subjectsfrom red wine to polyphenols and back: a journey through the history of the french paradoxwine as a biological fluid: history, production, and role in disease preventioncardiovascular risk factors This paradox may be attributable in part to high wine consumption. 1, 2 The French paradox concept was formulated by French epidemiologists 3 in the 1980s. Brain Performance and Nutrition Research Centre, Lecturer (Career Development Learning and Work Integrated Learning), Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Professor, Tutor in Philosophy (Teaching Associate - Periodic), Multiple Technical Leadership Opportunities, Australian Genome Foundry, Senior Curator - Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA. France has actually low CHD incidence and, in reality, it is very close to Germany, Italy or Spain. platelet aggregation and the French Paradox for coronary heart disease. Lancet. And while a moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with a slightly reduced death rate from heart attack, it is also associated with a slightly increased death rate from cancer, liver cirrhosis and car accidents (4,5). Why do heart attack rates appear lower than expected in France given their saturated fat and cholesterol intake? [22] Although polyphenols are speculated to be part of the health-promoting effects of wine consumption, no evidence exists to date that ingesting polyphenols from red wine or food sources actually provides health benefits. World J Gastroenterol. 1997; 20:420-424. Following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the French government introduced an aggressive nutritional program[which?] [12] The program catalysed a large increase in North American demand for red wines from around the world. Why French? What Paradox? - The French Paradox - W I N E S It was a term coined in 1980 by French scientists to explain the negative correlation of heart disease and fat intake among their nation. As time went on, it was discovered that the paradox is only partly . In primary prevention, adherence to lifestyle guidelines is associated with a very low risk of CHD. The dietheart hypothesis is a very important but rather complex concept. While a higher percentage of French people smoke, this is not greatly higher than the U.S. (35% in France vs. 25% in U.S.) and is unlikely to account for the weight difference between countries. Although French people were consuming one of the highest fat diets in the world, their death rates from heart attacks and heart disease were lower when compared to similar people in other countries. The site is secure. The French eat four times as much butter, 60 percent more cheese and nearly three times as much pork. This paradox may be attributable in part to high wine consumption. [14], The difference between U.S. annual per capita alcohol consumption (9.2 litres per year)[15] and French consumption (12.2 litres per year) is only 3 litres per year. The mean serum total cholesterol concentrations were similar in France, in the USA, and the UK. 1 Renaud S, De Lorgeril M. Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart disease. What Explains the French Paradox? | NutritionFacts.org Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premisesSamuel Butler. He credited this discrepancy 1997 Mar;13(1):71-94. doi: 10.1023/a:1005756425105. The "French paradox" and beyond: neuroprotective - ScienceDirect You can eat a little bit more cheese, but if you eat a lot more fruits and vegetables, you are still doing fine. Studies like those above are epidemiological and rely on making correlations between factors, such as heart health and red-wine drinking. Oxidised lipids, especially phospholipids, generated during low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation or within oxidatively stressed cells, are the triggers for many of the events seen in developing lesions.8 Flavonoids are components of a wide variety of edible plants, fruit, and vegetables and of beverages such as tea, coffee, beer, and wine. Norstrm T, Ramstedt M. Mortality and population drinking: a review of the literature. To further support this hypothesis, there were some striking data from three different cities within France itself. The custom of drinking wine with the meal may confer protection against some of the adverse effects of the food. In November 1991almost 20 years agothe "French Paradox" was revealed to the masses by Morley Safer, wine-loving co-anchor of 60 Minutes. Perhaps, they posited, red wine is some kind of superfood that has protective qualities. Mediterranean diet revisitedtowards resolving the (French) paradox So why, you might wonder, do people still study resveratrol when it clearly cannot explain the French paradox? It was a term coined in 1980 by French scientists in their paper on heart disease and fat intake. The French Paradox: How Changing Your Fat Ratios Can Shred Fat Since alcohol does have some fibrinolitic and atheroprotective effects, and red wine contains some protective polyphenols, such as resveratrols that come straight from red grapes, they hypothesized that higher red wine consumption could explain the apparent paradox. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted If anything, the whole story proves once more the concept that the balance of diet in general is more important than any single component in preventing disease and ensuring good health. Moreover, fig 22 shows that countries exhibit different CHD mortality trends. The French Paradox: All the French You Need to Know [32], Observation that amount heart diseases French people have is much less than is expected, The examples and perspective in this article, Identifying and quantifying the French paradox, Explanations based on the high per capita consumption of red wine in France, Explanations based on aspects of the French diet, French diet is rich in short-chain saturated fatty acids and poor in trans fats, Learn how and when to remove this template message, widely held belief that the high consumption of such fats is a risk factor for CHD, French Institute of Health and Medical Research, "The French paradox: lessons for other countries", "Why heart disease mortality is low in France: the time lag explanation", Tab 3.5 RSD web08: Age-standardised rate of finished consultant episodes for operations for CHD by sex and local authority, all ages and under 75 years, 2001/06, England (Table), "Nestl Bringing American-Style Diet Plans to Europe", "Surgeon General Wine | Wine ads draw Surgeon General's ire Claim that mild drinking benefits heart is criticized BALTIMORE CITY - Baltimore Sun", "Women's Health: Study Yields Murky Signals on Low-Fat Diets and Disease", "A Systematic Review of the Evidence Supporting a Causal Link Between Dietary Factors and Coronary Heart Disease", Potentially Universal Mechanism Of Aging Identified, report on alcohol consumption in the United States of America, "NIA's Intervention Testing Program at 10 years of age", "Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and protection of cells from premature aging, antioxidant activity, antioxidant content and antioxidant properties, and protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061", "Diet and risk of Type II diabetes: the role of types of fat and carbohydrate", "Trans fatty acids and coronary heart disease", "The Eye Digest Macular degeneration info", "La fille prodigue French Women Don't Get Fat", "Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases", "Moderate alcohol consumption as a cardiovascular risk factor: the role of homocycteine and the need to re-explain the 'French Paradox', Alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States, Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, Short-term effects of alcohol consumption, List of countries by alcohol consumption per capita, Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States, List of countries with alcohol prohibition, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Recommended maximum intake of alcoholic beverages, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_paradox&oldid=1110633321, Articles with dead external links from March 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles with limited geographic scope from July 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2021, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March 2022, Articles with a promotional tone from July 2021, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from July 2021, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Good fats versus bad fats French people get up to 80% of their fat intake from dairy and vegetable sources, including. In the MONICA project, there was a significant association between CHD mortality and plasma homocysteine, Toulouse (France) having one of the lowest values of the latter. By Jonathan Abrams, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. [28] Guiliano suggests that the key factors are: In his 2008 book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan suggests the explanation is not any single nutrient, nor the amount of carbohydrates or fats or proteins, but the whole length and breadth of nutrients found in "natural" as opposed to "processed" foods. I think people are studying red wine because of the French Paradox and because it could turn out to be the panacea of a foodstuff that is both enjoyable and healthy. Evidence from observational studies suggests that elevated levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. The French Paradox Maintenance Phase podcast - player.fm The French paradox is an apparently paradoxical epidemiological observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), while having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats,[1] in apparent contradiction to the widely held belief that the high consumption of such fats is a risk factor for CHD. I propose a toast to this basic rule of nutrition, and Ill be happy to toast with a glass of good French red wine, as they do in Toulouse. All Rights reserved. 1 Some countries present low or high CHD incidence and dissimilar CHD mortality trends (fig 22).). The popular narrative of the French paradox gets the premise and the conclusion wrong. The alcohol content usually ranges from 12-15%. Youd be dead from alcohol poisoning before you could get this experimental dose. 4. Women have less alcohol dehydrogenase the enzyme in the stomach lining and liver that breaks down alcohol 3. Crossref Medline Google Scholar; 2 Constant J. This increased the wine consumption by 44%. Central to the dietheart hypothesis are the attitudes to food and its role in life. Modern Myths of Aging: Red Wine and the 'French Paradox' . 8600 Rockville Pike This began about a decade ago when it was found to significantly increase lifespan in yeast, flies, worms and fish by essentially slowing their metabolism down. The above debate about the relation between wine, other alcohols, and CHD incidence is at the centre of the dietheart hypothesis. Emma Wightman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. A term coined the "French Paradox," discovered in the late 1980s represents the paradoxical epidemiological observation that French people experience lower incidence of coronary heart disease compared to other populations . France is actually a country with low CHD incidence and mortality (table 1 ). A term coined the "French Paradox," discovered in the late 1980s represents the paradoxical epidemiological observation that French people experience lower incidence of coronary heart disease compared to other populations despite the fact that they regularly eat bread, rich cheeses, and consume wine. Red Wine's "French Paradox" | On the Media | WNYC Studios Time is still needed to define new factors in the field of geneenvironment interactions or social epidemiology, or to provide an even better definition of optimal diet and regular physical exercise. In the Gerona province (Spain), a high prevalence of risk factors contrasted with a low incidence of CHD.18 The prevalence of total cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, and obesity in the Gerona province were lower than those of North Karelia (Finland) but higher than those of Minnesota (USA). Alcohol Consumption and Behavior Archives - The French Paradox Is No and transmitted securely. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. The cultural impact of the French paradox can be seen in the large number of book titles in the diet-and-health field which purport to give the reader access to the secrets behind the paradox: Other books sought to boost their credibility by reference to the French paradox. However, a single risk function derived in one place at a particular time may not be applicable elsewhere and must be adjusted for geographical and temporal factors. Eur J Popul. Other risk factors may partly account for the differences of CHD risk between northern and southern European countries. It may also help with osteoarthritis which is often experienced during the drop in oestrogen during the menopause. 2021 Oct 21;12:752117. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.752117. 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