Posted by Larry Hoover on May 4, 2005, at 8:37:46
In reply to Re: chemist: alcohol? how much? » AMD, posted by chemist on May 4, 2005, at 6:48:31
> and the ``French Paradox'' is no paradox at all to de Lorgeril and colleagues, yet white wines from northern Italy and Germany and olive oil from Italy are as good as retsina and Feta from Greece or a Chateuneuf-des-Papes and Brie from France, according to Bertelli and colleagues in Milano and Pisa.
I don't know where I read this, now, but I do recall a fascinating conjecture that the French Paradox is an artefact not of the wine, nor the foods, nor an interaction between same, but instead of the dining style.
In France, meals are a drawn out affair, often taking four or more hours (the main meal of the day). Even the idea of "courses" is of French restaurant origin, reflecting the social structure of the country itself. During those lengthy meals, wine is totally intermingled, in dribs and drabs, with a host of other ingredients, all taken in small doses over an extended period. Formalized grazing, as it were.
In contrast, you have the American tendency to "gorge and go".
So, is dining style a huge uncontrolled variable?
Habitually doing one or the other might have profound effects on both fat storage and blood chemistry, quite apart from the ingredients of the foods themselves. Of course, one must not discount e.g. resveratrol, and other flavonoids, etc. (French food also tends to be much less processed than is e.g. North American.)
Just thought I'd throw this in here.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:492031
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20050323/msgs/493522.html