cholesterol, page-8

Has anyone heard of the French Paradox?

It seems French men have 3 times the level of cholesterol than the average American. This is due to the fact that they eat lots of cheese, cream & rich foods.

HOWEVER these same French men have only one third the heart disease of Americans.

So its not the level of cholesterol that's important. Its more important to just eat a balanced diet and do a bit of exercise. Of course cholesterol levels help to sell a lot of drugs...


"CHAPTER 1 – WHAT IS THE FRENCH PARADOX

The French Paradox is the unexplained riddle of how a nation of alcohol-quaffing, croissant-munching gourmands stays healthy and slim, while a disproportionate number of health-obsessed Americans are obese and at cardiovascular risk.

The French Paradox has baffled American dieters and scientists, puzzled by the ability of the French to remain trim while downing buttery croissants, creamy brie and decadent pastries.

Nutritionally speaking, the French have been blessed: They eat all the butter, cream, fatty liver pate, pastry and cheese that their hearts desire, and yet their rates of obesity and heart disease are much lower than the USA and UK. The French eat three times as much saturated animal fat as Americans, and only a third as many die of heart attacks. It doesn’t make sense.

Scientists struggled to come up with a few hypotheses: Firstly it was attributed to the French tradition of drinking red wine. This got winemakers excited for a while, but no one could find any real basis for this theory, because the French do not have a monopoly on drinking red wine.

After the wine argument, scientists latched on to olive oil, but this didn’t explain the butter or Brie, which the French eat plenty of.

Some researchers suggested that the French Paradox was due to garlic and onions but the French don’t have a monopoly on eating that either. Others say that the French eat smaller portions and eat more slowly. The list goes on and on.

So whilst the Americans are worried about elevated cholesterol, and focused on low fat foods, and regularly taking cholesterol-lowering medication – the fact is - they are still twice as likely to have a heart attack as the French.

Clearly, the Americans think this is all unfair, and the French think it's wonderful. To them it’s simply Bon Appetit!

The French Paradox is a clearly a riddle. This book looks at all the available scientific evidence to explain the riddle.

And to do that we need to go on a journey with a few twists and turns. We will look at how the medical and pharmaceutical industries operate. We will look at the differences between the research doctors, and the practicing doctors. We will discuss cholesterol and the dangers of cholesterol-lowering drugs. And we will look at foods that inflame our arteries that lead to heart attacks and strokes. At the end of our journey we will have solved the riddle of the French Paradox. "