What is The French Paradox?

The French Paradox refers to the fact that French don't eat a particularly healthy diet and their diet patterns are normally rich in saturated fats, they suffer relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite their diet being rich in saturated fats.

The phenomenon of the French Paradox was first noted by Irish physician Samuel Black in 1819.

The term was coined after evidences suggested that compared to other European countries like UK and Germany, French showed much reduced rates of coronary heart disease.

The concept of 'French paradox' was made public after a study in 1819 revealed that the difference in angina found in French and Irish populations were attributed to the habits and modes of living, coinciding with the benignity of their climate and the peculiar character of their moral affections. The French were savoring rich food containing butter four times more, 60 percent more cheese and nearly three times as much pork. But still the incidences of heart diseases were very low in France.