The French Diet Is Le Bullshit - Dining and Cooking

FROMAGE, S’IL VOUS PLAÎT

Living on cigarettes, wine, and fatty cheese isn’t good for you. So how do the French do it?

Photo Illustration by Brigette Supernova/The Daily Beast

Since seemingly forever, the media has been applauding French people for their remarkable health.

Coined the French Paradox, it’s the idea that the French eat more total fat—think fatty cheeses like brie or semi-soft raw cow’s milk cheese—than Americans (42 percent versus 38 percent, according to the FAO 2012 Food Security Data) and drink red wine daily, yet outlive Americans (81.6 years versus 78.8 years, as of 2015). The French also suffer from fewer cases of coronary heart disease.

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