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Bon appetit: the high-quality French diet results in lower obesity and heart disease rates than the American low-fat paradigm

American Fitness, March-April, 2003 by William Clower

For over 30 years, Americans have embraced the theory that fat-free eating is the key to low weights and healthy hearts. However, new data suggest this path may be a blind alley--counterproductive to both weight control and health--compelling us to find new ways to think about diet.

To have a heart-healthy diet, we were once coached to cut cholesterol at all costs. For example, eggs were considered "bad" for us. Then, research linked too little cholesterol to strokes and a Harvard study showed eating an egg every day has no effect on the likelihood of contracting heart disease. Now, consumers hear cholesterol isn't the dietary evil per se, but its low-density variety, LDL, is. To muddy the water further, recent findings have shown even LDLs aren't bad in and of themselves. Only the smaller, oxidized form is dangerous--a form actually promoted by lower dietary fat intake.

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The confusion growing around the fat-free dogma applies to weight control as well. Traditionally, Americans knew losing weight meant avoiding butter, oils, nuts--essentially anything with fat in it--and, by and large, we've moved in that direction. Since the 1970s, total and saturated fat consumption has dropped while exercise rates have increased. Yet, despite these changes, Americans have experienced a startling increase in obesity rates and weight-related health problems. Now, studies conclude lower dietary fat conditions may actually facilitate fat storage in the body. In addition, the added sugars in many low-fat foods stimulate an insulin response which depletes available blood sugar. This leaves us hungry within a few hours, leading to snacking and overeating.

Not only the conflicting data swamp confuses us. A quick look to other countries also undermines the fat-free dogma. Many cultures openly violate our standard assumptions about the relationship between fat, weight and health. The French, for example, eat wonderful foods with decadently high levels of both carbohydrates and fats, including olive oil, nuts, breads, creams and cheeses--every day. Yet, their obesity rate hovers around 8 percent, compared to the epidemic American level of 33 percent. Despite their daily consumption of full (i.e., saturated) fat cheeses, the French have a low heart disease rate with three-fold fewer heart attacks than their American counterparts.

The lack of consensus in nutrition science represents a condition that will only be resolved when a more effective way of thinking replaces the faltering low-fat paradigm. The success of French dietary traditions makes the Mediterranean approach the most promising new direction. So, how does the sumptuous French diet produce low weights and healthy hearts? Simply put, it combines two essential elements of eating--what and how to eat.

Fats and the French

The French are famous for their focus on quality. Sauces and seasonings must be perfect in texture, consistency and, above all, flavor. This careful preparation begins with unprocessed foods--fresh breads, cheeses, meats and vegetables--and avoids invented foods, such as low-fat products, partially hydrogenated oils and that staple American beverage, carbonated soft drinks. In part, a richer and more natural diet produces a country of thin people because richer foods are more satisfying. Fats stimulate the production of cholecystokinin, a satiety signal which promotes an extended sense of satisfaction after eating even small amounts of high-fat foods. That's how the French can eat small portions, consume fewer overall calories and still not feel the need to snack between meals.

As for the French's health, the oils in certain natural products (e.g., nuts, avocados and olives) carry antioxidants which help prevent heart disease and aid the absorption of cancer-fighting lycopenes and carotenes. Vitamins A and E, selenium and lecithin, found abundantly in both eggs and butter, contribute to the clearance of cholesterol, actually helping prevent heart disease. The now famous Lyon Diet Heart Study showed that the higher fat Mediterranean-style diet resulted in 14 heart-related deaths in their patient populations over four years of follow-up, whereas the lower fat, "prudent," American diet yielded 44 deaths.

The French diet indicates high-quality food satiates and prevents chronic overeating. Moreover, it outperforms the lower fat diet in preventing heart disease by a margin of three to one in the general population and controlled studies. Americans would do well to take note and reject the "bigger is always better" mantra and low-fat theory as a "one size fits all" solution.

Healthy Eating Habits

Americans rarely hear about eating habits when told how to lose weight or help their hearts. However, the French know eating habits are critical to a successful diet and healthy relationship with food. You will never see the French wringing their hands over a meticulous accounting of the fats, carbohydrates and proteins in a meal. For them, eating is less an exercise in dietary calculus than a social event savored with friends and family. This philosophy extends the length of the meal and, by doing so, becomes a central factor in weight control. Simply put, eating too rapidly makes you eat too much. Since fullness signals to the brain are delayed by about 20 minutes, eating too quickly leads us to overeat before the brain learns the body is full. Slowing down, therefore, allows the brain to register the body's satiation signals before becoming stuffed with food.

Bon appetit: the high-quality French diet results in lower obesity and heart disease rates than the American low-fat paradigm

American Fitness, March-April, 2003 by William Clower

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