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Showing posts from November, 2016

The French paradox at 25

  November 17 2016 will mark twenty-five years since the CBS television show  60 Minutes christenedthe term “French paradox” and ushered in the modern era of research on wine and health. It was a provocative idea at the time, attributing the French custom of regular imbibing to health and well-being. It still has its naysayers; as recently as 2015, England’s chief medical officer Sally Davies scorned the idea and proclaimed it an “old wives’ tale.” (She suggested a cup of tea instead, presumably with pinky finger raised.) Then there are those who reduce the idea to a simple question of nutritional biochemistry and proclaim that all of wine’s health benefits can be put into a pill, conveniently and properly skipping the alcohol. Is there still a useful truth underlying the paradox? Why the French Paradox is still true As with many questions in the realm of lifestyle and health, the answers are often nuanced and conditional. Government authorities in both America and Europe challen