A cardiologist once told me that drinking half a bottle of red wine a day was better preventive medicine than any cholesterol-lowering medication he could prescribe. I wanted to believe him, but as a Chardonnay girl at heart I’ve always viewed the Red versus White debate with some suspicion.
The French Paradox
Interest in the health benefits of wine arose in the 1980s due to the so-called French Paradox. At a time when saturated fats were at the height of their demonization, researchers were astounded to find that France, with its high intake of fat, had a lower mortality rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) than the U.K. Le paradoxe Français was most evident in Gascony—home of the fatty Saucisses de Toulouse and the ultimate cardiologists’ nightmare—paté de fois gras.
