The French Paradox

Heard of the French Paradox? It goes something like this: The French eat a lot of rich foods - butter, cream, fatty meats and luxurious desserts - adding up to more dietary fat intake than the average North American. They drink and smoke more and exercise less BUT they also have lower rates of heart disease. How is that possible?

American scientists boiled it all down to a polyphenol called resveratrol found in red wine, a staple of the French diet. First newspaper headlines told us to drink more red wine then, lucky for us, scientists created little pills of resveratrol to save us the bother of actually having to drink a glass to get the heart protective effects.

I think they missed the point entirely.

The French have a completely different relationship with food. In a study conducted to test different nation's attitudes towards food, (sample question: "The word I most associate with ice cream is (a) fattening (b) delicious"), the French rated the highest in pleasure associations (i.e. ice cream = delicious). Americans associated food most with health outcomes (i.e. ice cream = fattening) but were also the least likely to rate their own diets as healthy! I imagine Canadians are not much better off.

We are a continent of worriers carrying a lot of guilt around food and eating. All that food knowledge and nutrition info and we still don't "eat well". The French eat and make food choices based on enjoyment AND they get lower heart disease risk while they're at it? Sold!

There's a little more. The French also take time to eat. Lunches are commonly a few hours long and tend to be the largest meal of the day (right when your metabolism is most active - i.e. you use vs. store what you eat). They eat in a more relaxed state vs. eating little bits here and there between meetings and phone calls or behind the wheel. Food and time together at meals is celebrated and cherished. They value the quality and freshness of their food above all. They didn't even have a term for "fast food" until recently. All that pleasure leads to a varied diet - about the only thing nutritional science can confidently say consistently leads to better health.

A two hour lunch may not be a possibility in our culture, but taking even an extra 10 minutes to eat away from your desk or just stopping the car to eat by the side of the road will help you to relax and really enjoy what you're eating. This simple shift will do wonders for both your digestion, your metabolism and your feeling of satisfaction from your meal - you may notice less desire for treats or snacks later on when you really tune in and relish your meal. But most important of all - eating will be more pleasurable.

Let's all be hedonists for lunch - for your health.

Want to read more re: how we eat is just as, if not more important than what we eat? Here's an article I wrote about bacon, and my sexy French Canadian neighbour last year.

And here is a deliciously decadent and relatively simple French recipe to enjoy:

Tarragon Chicken

serves 4

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chicken (about 3 pounds/1.4 kg), cut into 8 pieces (a great how to video).
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 shallot, minced
1 cup crème fraîche (or full cream)
1/2 cup chopped fresh tarragon
Lemon juice to taste

Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet over quite high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and fry in batches until well browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Put all the chicken back in the pan, add chicken stock and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook until tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm and reduce any leftover juices until sticky. Add the shallot and wine and reduce to a thickish sauce, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and half the tarragon. Boil down again to sauce consistency, 3 to 5 minutes.

Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Put back the chicken pieces, turning to coat, then transfer to a platter. Pour the sauce over, scatter over the remaining tarragon, and serve.

Recipe: Laura Calder, French Food at Home


Tarragon has a slightly peppery, mild licorice flavour and is extremely high in antioxidant activity - an added bonus. Fresh tarragon will keeps it flavour for 3 to 5 months if frozen in an air tight bag.

References:
Marc David - The Slow Down Diet
Ellyn Satter - Secrets to Feeding a Healthy Family