Wine and Cheese: A Paradox of a Pathfinder
How
often when walking down a city street in America does one see an overweight
person? All the time. In Europe it’s a different story,
particularly in France. In fact, not
only does France have a lower rate of obesity than diet-obsessed America, their
rate of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is so significantly lower, despite the
rich traditional French diet, that this phenomenon has been given a name: the
French Paradox. The concept of why the
French can maintain such a low level of heart disease while at the same time
entertaining a diet rich in cheese, wine, and bread (all enemies to the
American weight problem) has been researched extensively, with several
different reasons being given for this strange situation. Why do the French have such a low CHD rate
despite their diet? This pathfinder has
been divided into sections under which different experts have based their
theories. One of the most helpful
sources was The Fat Fallacy, by Dr. William Clower, who defends the idea
that combining foods in the way the French do is the best method for losing
weight and becoming healthy. The
subtopics that were most important too my research were the French and American
diets, the relationship between stress and heart disease, the statistical rate
of heart disease in various countries, and most importantly, the relationship
between red wine and heart disease.
Comparing the French and American Diets
“French
Eating Habits: Not Much Change.” FoodToday. 2003.
European Food Information Council.
25 February 2003.
<http://www.eufic.org/gb/food/pag/food033.htm>
This article was written for the
European Food Information Council and addresses where and when Americans and
French eat their meals. It provides
statistics mostly pertaining to the French populace’s food preparation and
eating habits that support my argument that the French eat healthier and at
fewer times during the day than Americans.
Clower, William, Ph.D. The Fat Fallacy Pittsburgh:
Perusal Press, 2001.
This book was particularly helpful
in providing information pertaining to the Mediterranean diet and exactly what
is wrong with the way Americans eat.
Dr. Clower is a neurophysiologist and neuroscience historian at the
University of Pittsburgh and applies his knowledge of different diets and
lifestyles to the problem that is the American diet.
Detloff,
Melissa Ane. “Wayne University Puts
Food in Cultural Context.” The South
End. 18 October 2001. Wayne University. 25 February 2003.
<http://www.southend.wayne.edu/days/10182001/news/food/food.html>
Detloff is a student reporter at
Wayne State University. Her article is
a report on a lecture given by Dr. Paul Rozin, a psychology professor at the
University of Pennsylvania. Rozin
defends the argument that people’s tastes often develop early on as a result of
their culture and extends it to use as an improvement on American eating
habits. If Americans can moralize what
they eat (ie use “fatty foods are bad for your health” in the same manner as anti-smoking
ads) we will stop the useless worrying and begin to feel that eating fatty
foods is actually bad, and action will be taken. Rozin also connects his argument to the French way of life, noting portion size and meal count as
important as well.
Yeoman,
Barry. “”Unhappy Meals.” MotherJones.com. January/February 2003. The Foundation for National Progress. 29 January 2003. <http://www.motherjones.com>
Yeoman uses this article as a means
to convey the severity of diseases in children caused by mediocre diets found
mostly in government provided school lunches.
Obesity, diabetes, and other dangerous conditions can develop as a
product of being overweight. The government’s
original goal was to provide nutritional meals regardless of income for students,
at the same time upping meat and milk demand (despite the public’s growing
distaste for these crops). This take on
one aspect of American diet helped me understand where many of our obesity
statistics are rooted.
Linking Heart Disease to Stress
Miller,
Lyle H. Ph.D and Alma Dell Smith, Ph. D.
“Stress: A Case Study.” American
Psychology Association Help Center. 1997. American Psychology Association. 20 February 2003. <http://helping.apa.org/work/stress1.html>
This article is not in fact a study,
but more of an example of how stress effects Americans. It also shows the effects of living the
crazed life that many of us do nowadays.
I used this piece to support the part of my argument that dealt with the
comparison of French and American lifestyle and diet, and how they are related
to stress.
Neary,
Walter. “Path from Chronic Stress to
Heart Disease Clarified.” Health
Behavior News Service. 23 May
2002. Center for the Advancement of
Health. 20 February 2003. <http://www.newswise.com/articles/2002/5stress.hbn.html>
This article confirms that there is
an undeniable link between stress and rate of heart disease. This was helpful to me by showing that
stress (not just diet) can be an influencing factor in the heart disease statistics,
and that there may be a higher level of stress in America than in France.
Heart Disease Statistics and Symptoms
“Heart
Disease: Facts and Figures.” 2003. Irish Health.com. 4 March 2003.
Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
<http://www.irishhealth.com/clin/cholesterol/chol_facts.html>
This fact sheet provided statistics
dealing with the actual rate of heart disease in France as compared to the rest
of Europe.
“International
Cardiovascular Disease Statistics.”
2003. American Heart
Association. 20 February 2003.
<http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1043250000063IntStats2003.pdf>
This fact sheet, distributed by the
American Heart Association, gives statistics for the prevalence of heart
disease in numerous countries around the world including America, making it
helpful for comparison purposes. It
also lists facts about heart disease itself.
“Wine
Consumption and Heart Disease.”
2003. British Heart
Association. 4 March 2003. <http://www.stat.ualberta.ca/people/kolacz/stat252/wine3.pdf>
This site provides scatter plots
pointing out the relationship between wine consumption and mortality, placing
France at the lowest mortality rate for amount of wine consumed per year. These graphs are credible due to the
statistical nature in which they were created: the normal relationship and a
transformed (natural logarithm) plot were made, each showing a linear pattern,
confirming that in this case, the amount of wine consumed has a direct effect
on mortality.
The Relationship Between Red Wine and CHD
“Heart Protection, French Style.” Consumer Reports on Health July 2001:
7. EBSCOHost. 29 January 2003. <http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This
Consumer Report on Health suggests that there is an extension to the French
Paradox: the varied menu. It goes on to
report on the prevalence or lack of certain nutrients in the French traditional
diet, and their effect on French health as compared to America.
“Kandaswami, Chithan Ph.D. “The Health Benefits of Grapeseed.” Anti-Oxidant.com.
20 February 2003.
<http://www.klsdesign.com/anti-ox/allabout-french.html>
This article explains the concept of the French Paradox
and aspects of the French diet. It
cites several researchers who are experts on the subject such as Lewis Purdue,
Curtis Ellison, and Dr. Serge Renaud.
It puts a particular emphasis on alcohol’s impact on the rate of heart
disease and explains the effects of anti-oxidants from the red wine. It was particularly helpful in the part of
my argument in which I focus on the importance of red wine in a diet.
Collins, Karen, R.D.
“A New Look At the French Paradox.”
MSN Health Nutrition Notes. 16
January 2003. MSNBC News. 4 March 2003. <http://www.msnbc.com/news/859977.asp>
This MSNBC news article is a good objective point of view
on the French Paradox. It points out
the importance of fruits and vegetables and that alcohol may not be the only
influencing factor in an effective diet.
This alternate point of view was useful in examining differing research.
Criqui, Michael.
“Alcohol in the Myocardial Infarction Patient.” Lancet 12 December 1998: 1873. 29 January 2003. <http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This article, found in the scholarly journal Lancet,
was helpful to an extent. It addresses
the results of a study of middle-aged men who have had a myocardial infarction
and its connection with alcohol.
Although this article was helpful in terms of statistics and citing a
particular study, it was difficult to interpret given its audience.
Grainger, David.
“A Votre Sante?” Lancet 8
July 2000: 92. EBSCOHost. 29 January 2003. <http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This article acknowledges the benefits of moderate
consumption of alcohol in relation to its effects on heart disease. However, the point of the piece if to
discourage intentional overdose, and to warn people not to justify over
indulgence in this, one of life’s pleasures, for the sake of good health just
because it is printed in a magazine (i.e. without solid data).
Gronbaek, M.
“Factors Influencing the Relation Between Alcohol and Mortality.” Journal of Internal Medicine 2001:
291-308. EBSCOHost. Blackwell Science Ltd. 29 January 2003. <http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This piece also includes a strong recommendation against
high-level consumption of alcohol, but provides hard data that the relationship
between alcohol consumption and the CHD mortality rate is J-shaped.
Jacques, Paul F., DSc. “The Debatable Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption.” Nutrition in Clinical Care March/April
2000: np. EBSCOHost. Tufts University. 29 January 2003. <http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This editorial piece discusses the different types of
alcohol consumption in different populaces, specifically France and
America. It poses a question as to
whether or not wine is the only influencing alcohol beverage, and also points
out alternate factors. These were
useful in my own research for opposing views and ideas.
Yudkin, John S. and Sara Stanner. “Can Wine and Fabulous Food Help You Live
Longer? And Better? The French Paradox.” Optimal Wellness Fall1997: 1-2. EBSCOHost. 29 January 2003.
<http://ehostweb14.epnet.com>
This very helpful article points out
a significant factor in the French paradox controversy: the differences in the
French. It specifically states the differences
between the northern and southern traditions as well as diets, and that the
southern French, which follow a Mediterranean diet, are the ones influencing
the statistics. When used in addition
to research regarding the Mediterranean diet, this source is extremely helpful.
Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
1600 Clifton Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30333
U.S.A
(404) 639-3311
The American Heart Association
National Center
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231
U.S.A
1-800-AHA-USA-1
or 1-800-242-8721
Dr. William Clower PhD
University of Pittsburgh
MONF W467 Pittsburgh
(412) 692-2874
wtc3@pitt.edu
The French Paradox is a
much-researched subject, however the only problem is that most articles written
on the topic state the same thing. I
have done my best to pick out the most varied sources. Although I have located many of them on the
free Web (most of the statistics from large public health organizations such as
the American Heart Association), EBSCOHost was an extremely helpful
database from which I gathered much of my scholarly information. I will not advise the researcher to steer
clear of Google because it was a major contributor of well-supported
evidence, although one must be very cautious when using this search engine for
various topics; it is not always as helpful.
Useful search terms include: “the French paradox”, “comparing American
and French diets”, “American alcohol consumption”, “Mediterranean diet”, and
“stress linked to coronary heart disease”.
Katie
Connelly
February
2003