Sugar Blossom

The “French Paradox”: More Saturated Fat, Better Heart Health

Have you ever heard of the “French paradox”? If you saw a recent, bestselling diet book called French Women Don’t Get Fat, then you know about this paradox indirectly. It comes down to this: French people consume about ?fteen more grams of total fat daily; yet on the whole, they are less overweight than Americans. What’s more, the French have a relatively low incidence of coronary heart dis­ease, despite their diet being rich in the kind of saturated fats found in meat and cheese that we usually warn people to eat less of.

Para­doxically, the average French person eats about one-third more fat from animal sources daily compared with the average American. A typical French diet consists of more butter, cheese, and pork, all of which are laden with lots of “heart unhealthy” saturated fats. The rest of the fat in the American fare comes from vegetable oils, particularly soybean oil.

Exactly how is it that American males have almost three times the incidence of heart disease compared to their French peers, despite a supposedly “better” dietary fat intake? Obviously, ? g­uring out the best foods to eat is more complex than originally believed. It may turn out that trans fats (formed through manu­facturing practices to solidify liquid oils) contribute more to heart problems than saturated fats. Americans have traditionally been eating a lot of hidden trans fats until just recently when manufac­turers had to start listing trans fats on food labels. Eating less of both trans and saturated fats is still a widely accepted recommen­dation for enhanced heart health.

Alternately, many have suggested that France’s high red wine consumption is a primary factor for their superior cardiac health.

Although this speculation has resulted in a recent surge in North American demand for red wines, the actual medical causes of the French paradox are still not entirely clear. Another possible bene? ­cial factor may be the smaller portion sizes in the French diet com­pared to a typical American one, resulting in fewer overweight French inhabitants. Until we know more about the physiology behind these observations, we still suggest that you eat and drink more like the French, particularly with regard to eating smaller portions and consuming moderate amounts of wine.

Action Steps for Better Health Tip

Whether or not French women actually get fat, a typical French diet appears to be more heart healthy than an American one. Feel free to drink moderate amounts of red wine, but particularly limit your intake of trans fats, which are found mostly in baked goods and highly processed foods.