Finish me with butter; or, Less is More

By now you know about the French Paradox, right? The country with the lowest incidence of heart disease is Japan. Makes sense; their traditional diet is extremely low in red meat and dairy products and high in fish and vegetables. But the second country on the list is France, and the French have a very low incidence of obesity as well. How can this be, in a country full of foie gras, red meat, rich and elegant cream sauces, and everything, but everything monter a beurre ("mounted in butter," that is, finished off with butter right before serving)? The land of croissants, chocolate, and cheese?

Lots of people have come up with theories about why this could be. Maybe red wine has some magical heart-friendly properties, or maybe it's some chemical in the chocolate. Or maybe when you eat a lot of fat, your body stops producing its own cholesterol.

The heart thing is still up for debate, but as for the weight part? Turns out the French, for all their rich cuisine, just plain eat less:

"As a consequence of all these mighty meals, the average calorie consumption in the United States weighs in at 3,642 a day, against 3,551 in France - a small difference, but one that can add up to a five-pound weight gain in six months."

I observed this myself: during the 6 months I was doing my French cheese research project, I was buying extraordinarily delicious, extraordinarily expensive cheese, and enjoying every bite. But the richness and robust taste made me satisfied with a bite or two of each cheese, compared to an entire quesadilla filled with piles of shredded medium cheddar.

(One of the things I especially like about this article is that it is ripping on Britain, for the most part, and not the states. It's refreshing to get a break from American-bashing from time to time. And besides, then we get to read about things like marmite, Tandoori Doritos, Scotch-egg bars and 'Christmas-pudding Flavoured KitKat.' Flavoured! Love those wacky Brits!)