It is often observed that the French, among other cultures, enjoy a paradox that is anything but imaginable to most Americans. The "French Paradox", as it has been labeled, illustrates how the French eat food that tends to be overwhelmingly rich, buttery, and fattening, yet their health statistics reflect an overall thin, healthy, and long-lived population. Conversely, the United States shares the French's love of decadent and tasty food, yet suffer from an entirely different fate of an overweight and unhealthy culture of people. The statistics are staggering. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, at the time of writing, while the French have an obesity rate looming somewhere near a modest 10% range. And this with the French readily enjoying Foie Gras, Torchons, soufflés and all the most deadly of fat and cholesterol-laden foods. What gives?
Scientists and social scientists alike have all weighed in of the matter to give us yet a bit more confusion and some form of a plausible explanation. Turns out, scientists have studied all the mainstays of the French diet looking for the smoking gun. First they thought it was the olive oil, with all of its enlightening qualities, yet they still couldn't account for all the other animal-originated fats (the worst kind) that the French consumed. Scientists studied the wine, the garlic, the breads, and even the duck liver for their fat and cholesterol-negating effects, but to no avail.
Those baffled by the phenomena found their answer in a more pragmatic approach in the French habits. Turns out that the French are eating their murderous foods just as most developed countries are, yet their approach to consumption is wholly different than our own. As some have said, the French approach food in a more leisurely and time consuming fashion. They have a "love affair" with food so to speak, so as to take enjoyment in the entire meal and the whole slow process of consumption. This fly's in stark contrast to the American style of eating, where it is not uncommon to eat rushed and in a manner that leaves the senses satisfied for only a brief moment. How often have you had to eat an entire meal on your feet and in a matter of minutes without giving yourself time to savor what is going into your mouth? I do it almost daily. As the story goes, this facet of the American diet states that food is for "fueling up", rather than to be eaten leisurely while each bite is savored and pondered. Hence we coin a term synonymous with the American diet: fast food.
This analysis has yet to explain the entire mystery however. This slow and leisurely process of French eating accounts for an eating style that often focuses on the quality and complexity of the food rather than the quantity. Put in a different way, the French eat less than we do. Plain and simple, regardless of how oily and cheesy French food is, they stick to small and manageable portions of these classically heavy dishes. The French adhere to eating strictly three meals a day, steering themselves away from snacks and excessive alcohol consumption, so as to enjoy what they want and steer clear of what they don't need. There is not a focus of over-consumption in France, converse to the "Super Size" mentality we have here.
Many countries in Europe embrace this same quality-not-quantity perspective. I remember my first trip to Italy a few summers ago when I first picked up on the phenomena. I remember (and so too does my travel friend) doing nothing but complaining about the Italian style of eating in Rome. A continental breakfast in Italy consisted of a piece of bread; coffee with milk, and some small pieces of cheese. Every hotel we stayed at, with the exception of one, offered up these supposed "breakfasts" with no other menu options. I just ended up sleeping through most of our complimentary breakfasts. Come lunch time I would go to one of the many little Panini sandwich shops that served up a wide selection of ingredients on an Italian roll. Turns out that these panini's were decorated with such a small amount of ingredients that I had to eat two of them to be fully satisfied. The pizza followed in similar suit. It was a razor thin piece of dough with stark patches of cheese and sauce, so as to render it looking almost incomplete. Again, I was disappointed . I paid no attention to how amazing the food tasted or how fresh the organic arugula and aged prosciutto was....I wanted quantity and a full stomach. I was on vacation for goodness sakes! This was the classic Fat Mentality alive and well on the streets of Rome.
Americans just haven't grasped that bigger is not better and that a consistently full stomach is far from ideal. Food here in the states is eaten quickly and hastily, almost always being digested before being fully enjoyed. This Fat Mentality places an emphasis on the size of the meal rather than the quality of the ingredients. As developing countries pick up on the American habits, they too pick up on American epidemics including obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The path is dangerous and difficult to avoid, yet when executed successfully, the payoff is invaluable.
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