The REAL French Paradox

The French Paradox refers to the observation that France had the lowest number of deaths and the highest wine consumption. At the same time, French epidemiologists observed that some French regional populations had relatively low rates of coronary heart disease, despite high consumption of saturated fat. It is worth noting that in all but the Mediterranean coastal areas of France, they do NOT have the mediterranean diet.

The Greek physician Hippocrates was using wine as an antiseptic, diuretic and sedative as far back as 400 B.C.

Louis Pasteur said (1822-95) : "Wine is the healthiest and most hygienic of drinks".

In 1979, Dr Selwyn St Leger, compared figures for heart disease in men aged 55 to 64 in Europe, North America and Australasia.

The idea that regular wine-drinking could account for the French Paradox was put forward by Dr Serge Renaud in 1991. He also put forward the idea that alcohol's ability to inhibit blood-clotting mechanisms underlines this protective effect. Other recent studies have suggested that wine drinkers may enjoy protection from stroke, peripheral artery disease and dementia.

The French Paradox, which highlights the statistical phenomenon of low levels of heart disease despite high saturated-fat consumption has intrigued wine drinkers since it was first reported.

Professor Roger Corder and his team have investigated several populations with a high proportion of centenarians. Their research provided insight into the types of wines that is best for long-term health. This research indicates the French Paradox is not a statistical aberration. It did reveal a fundamental aspect of diet and health that deserved more research and so Corder investigated.

Professor Corder's research led him to analysing the wines in the Gers area of South-West France where Madiran and our other heart healthy wines are made. If there was truly a French Paradox then it was here. Gers has double the national average of men aged 90 or more. So if red wine is the protecting force, then this region's wines must be providing special benefits.

Corder and his team designed their study so they wouldn't know which compound worked best until the end of the trial. The researchers cultured endothelial cells and then added small amounts of red wine. The team used chromatography to isolate and measure the biological activity of each polyphenol in red wine. In hundreds of experiments, using wines from all over the world, procyanidin proved to be the best at regulating production of endothelin-1 to achieve the most favourable levels. Procyanidins suppressed overproduction by 50 percent. Other compounds, such as resveratrol and quercetin, were found to have an irrelevant effect.

See our RESEARCH page for articles about Corder's investigations and research findings. This is the REAL French Paradox.

^{Dr Serge Renaud and Professor Roger Corder being presented with honorary membership of the Madiran producers society.}

Dr Serge Renaud's attendance at the Wine & Health Symposium in Pau in 2007 was confirmation he supports the research of Professor Roger Corder (into the heart healthy qualities of Procyanidins) as the explanation of The French Paradox.  It was our great pleasure to meet both men at the Wine & Health Symposium in Pau in 2007.