The term, the "French Paradox", became famous in 1991 when CBS’s 60 Minutes reported an inconsistency in the lifestyles and rates of heart disease among people in France.

In spite of a diet of rich foods—including more butter, cheeses, eggs and sauces, an estimated 15 percent of their daily calories obtained from saturated fats and less exercise—the rate of heart disease for French people is only 40 percent of that of Americans.

Why the paradox?

The “paradox,” or the incompatibility of a diet rich in fatty foods and a decreased risk of heart disease has been explained by the tendency for people in France to drink red wine regularly with their meals and an apparent factor in red wine that protects against heart disease. In addition to research reported by St. Leger in 1979,1 who found that French people who consumed moderate levels of wine had a lower incidence of heart disease than would have been predicted statistically, similar results were reported by Dr. Serge Renaud, head of the Lyon Center of INSERM and Dr. Michel de Lorgeril in 1992.

In his book, The French Paradox and Beyond, Lewis Purdue says, “We now know as much about or more about the cardio-protective effects on moderate alcohol consumption as we do about aspirin’s role in reducing heart attacks or fiber’s role in decreasing colon cancer.” He also notes that the Copenhagen Heart study, released in 1995, reported that those who consumed three to five glasses of wine per day over the 12-year span of the study had only half of the mortality risk of those who did not drink at all. Beer and hard alcohol did not provide such protection.

Leading researcher and physician, R. Curtis Ellison, M.D., Chief of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at Boston University School of Medicine, was interviewed by 60 Minutes for its first report on the French Paradox and again for the follow-up in 1995. He has said that the scientific data is clear: "Moderate alcohol consumption, especially moderate red wine consumption, is associated with much lower risk of heart disease and stroke, leading causes of death in the United States."2

While there are different opinions about the possible role of wine drinking in studies of prolongation of longevity, ongoing concern about the danger of abuse of excessive alcohol consumption and even questioning of the statistics used to explain the French Paradox, there is increasing interest in the potential role of nonalcoholic components of wine in the protection against heart disease.

When asked by 60 Minutes what it is about wine, or particularly red wine that provides protection from heart disease, Dr. Renaud responded, “I think in addition to alcohol – there is alcohol first. That plays a role. And the second role, to my knowledge, is played by antioxidants.”3

For this very reason, scientists have turned their attention toward a family of natural substances called polyphenols, which are only found in plants and are abundant in grapes. In particular, one could clearly attribute the potential beneficial effects associated with red wine consumption to the increased intake of chemical substances originating from the red grape skin and seed grouped as polyphenols.

How then do these compounds protect against the onset of heart diseases? The answer lies in their intrinsic biochemical properties. Scientists consider that the modification of fats such as cholesterol in the blood vessels is a prime factor in the initiation of heart disease. One such modification is oxidation. Grape and wine polyphenols possess the capacity to retard this process by acting as anti-oxidants.

Another critical factor involved in the healthy functioning of blood vessels is the control of blood pressure and the avoidance of blood clots, which affect blood flow in the vessels. Polyphenols possess the capacity to relax the smooth muscles of these blood vessels. This could be important in reducing blood pressure and the risk of clotting.

1 St. Leger, A.S. et.al., Lancet, 1:1017 (1979)
2 Wine Spectator, October 31, 1998
3 60 Minutes, CBS News, November 5, 1995

Red Wine and Its Protective Powers

Red wine’s protective powers come from the chemical composition of grapes including anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and other flavonoid substances. All are highly potent anti-oxidants.

Scientists have also discovered that these compounds found in grapes reduce LDL cholesterol (the so-called “bad” cholesterol) oxidation while increasing the HDL cholesterol (the so-called “good” cholesterol), relax the walls of blood vessels and generally improve health. These benefits appear despite the pro-oxidation effects of alcohol.

These benefits, however, are not confined to red wine and grape juice. Compounds found in the skins of grapes are also powerful anti-oxidants while other compounds with exciting health-promoting potential are concentrated in the seeds.

From The Health Benefits of Grapeseed by Chithan Kandaswami, Ph.D., CNS, FACN and Dallas Clouatre, Ph.D.

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