French have the strongest hearts: What Indians can learn from them

Enough has already been written about the French diet. Careers of many food experts have been launched, and multiple diet books have become blockbusters, simply by trying to decode the paradox: how the French stay thin, and keep their hearts healthy, in spite of not dieting and spending hours panting in the gym (BTW their favorite exercise is walking. They walk everywhere: to a friend’s house, to shop for groceries, and yes even to a restaurant...).

Trying to understand their sensible, sensuous way of eating is a worldwide obsession and has been dissected minutely already. It’s common news by now that in France everything is usually cooked with fresh ingredients, at least 3/4th of their meals are home cooked, with most of the eating done at the family table and they don’t usually snack on anything except yoghurt and fruits. Super sensible.

The fact that olive oil, and wine work for them is a much publicised news too. We also know that they are big on small portions (for example it’s always a glass or two, never a full bottle of wine for them). And one thing that has been proved minus any doubt about nutrition is that moderation is usually the best rule of thumb - and the French seemed to have aced this one for sure. Though now with globalisation, things are changing in France as well: their diet is slowly getting Americanised too, but the lure of processed foods is not rampant still and meals that come out of a box are seriously frowned upon.

But apparently that’s not all that’s good about the French way of eating. There are now fresh insights coming from food scientists on what else the French do right for their heart. Read on:

The cheese fix!

Lately, it has been becoming increasingly clear that saturated fats are not the devils they have been made out to be.

Also read: Eight good sources of fat for you

And this has inspired researchers to re-look at the fact that the French eat a lot of cheese too. A study published in March this year looked at the by-products of cheese digestion and reported that the saturated fat in cheese is metabolised by gut microbes to short chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, which is actually linked to lower cholesterol and also has an anti-inflammatory effect in the gut (helps maintain gut health). So follow the French and bin all those stories about cheese being unhealthy.

Greens + olive oil

Moving a step up from the already accepted fact that the good fats in olive oil protect the heart, it has come to light that it is actually the fusion of the healthy fats in olive oil and the nitrites and nitrates in greens like spinach, celery, and carrots, that make them good for the heart.

This fats-greens pairing, according to new research, leads to the formation of nitro fatty acid that helps relax blood vessels which brings down blood pressure. What this means is that blindly hoarding olive oil and then using it to do the dal tadka, may not get you the benefit, and it is actually this fusion of nutrients that works.

The onion secret

Surely, you have heard about the French onion soup. And you also know that a classic French tarte à l'oignon (French onion pie) can easily absorb a kilo of this humble ingredient. Yes, that’s another good eating secret of the French - they are big eaters of onion, and it probably stands them in good stead. This understated nutritional superstar is loaded with antioxidant flavonoids, such as quercetin, which protects us against cell damage, and is also one of the richest sources of chromium, a metal which increases the action of insulin, and may therefore help control blood sugar, which is again directly related to our heart’s health.

Also read: What you should eat to stop falling ill all the time

It explains why such low number of French suffer from coronary heart disease. So while the red wine does its bit, the real superstar of heart protection is actually this humble vegetable. Could onion, in fact, be the real answer to the French paradox? Seems quite likely.

The Tomato secret

Done admiring the cherry tomato in the salad? Now eat it. Because the French do. They call it pomme d'amour, meaning “love apple” and it seems for a reason. Tomato helps lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. In addition, they also help prevent unwanted clumping together of platelet cells in the blood, thereby preventing atherosclerosis, a huge heart disease risk factor.