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How can the French consume the same amount of saturated fat in their diets
as American's do, smoke more cigarettes then we do and still have one-third less
the amount of fatal heart attacks? If you read the results of the French Paradox
Study, you may be surprised.
The answer is resveratrol. A powerful antioxidant that is found in the
red wine that the French drink. Resveratrol is produced by many plants, but is
especially abundant in grape skins. The high amount of resveratrol that is found
in the grape skins protects the fruit from fungus and sun damage. Red wine which
is fermented in grape skins is consumed on a regular basis by the French. With
the high antioxidant content of the red wine, the French are protecting their
hearts..
The study results were first aired on a "60 Minute Special." The effects
of moderate drinking of red wine was to be determined, but first the
word moderate had to be defined. Some participants of the study thought the
definition of moderate drinking meant one bottle, other's thought two or three.
Once the term moderate was determined to be one or two glasses, the study could
begin.
The French National Institute of Health Research developed
the program which was named the French Paradox Study, under the supervision of
Dr.Serg Renaud. Results of this study concluded that 20-30 grams of alcohol a
day reduced heart disease by 40%. Other studies soon followed with the
same impressive results.
In Coppenhagen a study was performed with 13,000 participants. These Danish
citizens consumed moderate amounts of alcohol under one of the largest studies
of it's kind and found the same beneficial results as the French Paradox.
Drinking red wine gave significantly better results than consuming other
alcoholic beverages. Beer and hard liquor carry little to none, of this highly potent antioxidant. The studies findings concluded that drinking red wine did
protect the heart, although a finding by Dr. Arthur Klatsky in California noted
that binge drinking even on occasion, diminishes some of the benefits.
There are other great sources of resveratrol that can be consumed if one
does not like drinking red wine. Resveratrol can be found in grapes,
blueberries, peanuts, peanut sprouts and japanese knotweed shoots eaten before
they get tough and woody (between the months of April -May).
For thousands of years it has been thought that red wine was a healthful drink
for the heart. With the conclusion of the French Paradox Study it is now proven
that the old Roman saying, " In Vino Sanitas," ( In wine there is health)
is scientifically correct.
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