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The French do not have healthier hearts because they drink
red wine, say researchers in the current British Medical
Journal. Rather, what's known as the French Paradox is
caused by a time lag from a change in the French
diet.
Animal fat and serum cholesterol are relatively new items
in French cuisine, say Dr. Malcolm Law and professor
Nicholas Wald of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive
Medicine in London. This explains why France's mortality
rate from ischaemic heart disease is about 25 percent that
of Britain's.
Until sometime between 1970 and 1980, France's levels of
animal fat and serum cholesterol were much lower than
Britain's, and the two countries' levels have been similar
for only about 15 years, the researchers say. It takes
between 25 and 35 years for the increase in fat consumption
to translate into heart disease, they say.
In the study, the authors look at other possible
explanations, such as undercertification of heart-disease
deaths in France, smoking, alcohol consumption (including
red wine), the consumption of garlic and onions, and
France's warmer weather.

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