On Jun 5, 1:21 pm, "PG" > wrote:
> "Paul Grieg" > a écrit dans le message de news:
> ...
> | On Jun 5, 9:02 am, Peter Brooks > wrote:
> | > Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph:
> | > "
> | > Red wine stops effects of high-fat diet
> | > By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
> | > Last Updated: 1:01am BST 04/06/2008
> | >
> | > Red wine does indeed explain why the French get away with a relatively
> | > clean bill of heart health despite eating a diet loaded with saturated
> | > fats, concludes a new study.
> |
> | The study looked at middle aged mice! You would have to do extended
> | studies on the French before being able to come to this conclusion.
>
> There have been rumours ref the alleged beneficial effects of red wine on the
> health of the French for donkeys' years now, nothing new there. Mostly spread by
> French males who particularly enjoy 'un petit rouge' whatever the time of day, I
> reckon! But there are substantial differences in diet - I have to contest the
> "loaded with saturated fats" French diet assertion - most kids for example eat
> loads of vegetables, salads and fruit in comparison to the Brits, in my
> experience.

maybe your right about vegetables (any figures?) But you are wrong
about the French diet not being loaded with saturated fats.

Kendrick's 14 European country study (reported in The Great
Cholesterol Con) has the French diet with the highest percentage of
saturated fats (15%) but lowest heart disease death rate (< 100 per
100 000) Ukraine has figures of 7.5% and > 700 per 100 000.

> | Maybe red wine is only good for mice. Maybe its variety of food and
> | stress free lifestyle that is good for the French? Or the fact that
> | they take philosophy seriously? Good weather? Or any of several other
> | factors or combinations.
>
> Stress-free... not so much these days. The gap's narrowing fast, but the French
> concept of quality of life still includes considerable emphasis on taking time
> to eat, to talk, to enjoy periods of leisure. Plus there is more emphasis on
> physical fitness at school.
>
> Philosophy? Not sure about that these days, but yes they take some issues very
> seriously, and from a very early age too. I've seen 12 years olds waving banners
> at the school gates during a strike against proposed cuts in recent weeks.
>
> Good weather... south of a line between La Rochelle and Lyon perhaps, but we've
> had a pretty awful May in the south of France this year ...
>
> Still, in the light of this new research, I shall definitely be boosting my
> Burgundy intake ;-)

Careful! Don't assume the glass of wine recommended in the report
referred to mice, and scale up :-)

Kendrick suggests that social dislocation may be a big factor in
causing stress, hence the high rates amongst British Asians, so I'm
not sure if moving to France is a good idea.