French Paradox

The French Paradox is perhaps the most confusing issue surrounding the debate over diet and health.  The French and the Finnish consume similar amounts of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol.  Yet, the French have a much lower rate of heart attacks than do the Finnish.  Fortunately, we have this scientific study of 40 nations which goes a long way towards understanding the reason behind this.

Click the link below. The entire text is available for free.

The French and Finnish Paradox

After adjusting for cholesterol and saturated fat, milk and many components of milk (butterfat, milk protein, calcium from milk, and riboflavin) and total calcium remained positively related to CHD mortality for all 40 countries. There were differences in the consumption of these foods and nutrients in France and Finland. Milk and butterfat (fat from milk, cream, cheese, and butter) consumption was higher in Finland than in France. The consumption of plant foods, recently shown to be protective against CHD (vegetables and vegetable oils containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids), was greater in France than in Finland.