The Health of French People

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I have an entire clan of uncles/cousins in France and have been there many times. I speak the language fluently and have also got "acculturated" into their social, gastronomic and cultural history and habits.

The French LOVE food and know how to prepare it and eat it. Here are some of their rules and habits:

1. They eat FRESH food. Most French go to market daily and bring the food for that day's preparation fresh. This includes all animal food and all veggies and fruit.
2. French eat their main meal at NOON. The American habit of eating lunch on the fly and then eating a large dinner, IMHO, is one of the main reasons for obesity and ill health. If everyone here would change just this one element, we will see a huge drop in overweight and illness.
3. French eat RAW vegetable salad as a must with each meal.
4. French eat SLOWLY. Some lunches can last up to 3 hours, taking a course at a time and eating it slowly.
5. French cook with BUTTER, fresh CREAM and a little bit of olive oil here and there. No lard, no margarine, no Crisco or Vegetable shortening.
6. French use many herbs as seasonings, not just salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce as do the Americans.
7. French de-fat their meat and cook it delicately, in a variety of sauces that are mainly cream and butter based, with herbs and spices.
8. French do not eat large portions. They eat small portions and then many different dishes.
9. French do not eat fast food. They sit and savor the meal. Eating on the fly is another way to destroy one's digestion and create problems.
10. French eat a lot of fatty cheeses, both hard and soft-aged cheeses, usually at the end of a meal with bread, butter and fruit. It is a national habit. If we counted the calories they consumed, we would find that they take in huge amounts of calories from a meal like this. However, they don't become fat.

In addition to the above:

11. French drink wine with most meals. Not just one glass, but a lot of wine. And a different wine can be served with each course in the meal...
12. Also, French smoke A LOT. This should account for ill health, but I don't know about the statistics of smoking-related disease in France.

There is NO Genetically Modified agriculture in France, and they are opposing it strongly. They know why. Their cattle is grass fed, not grain fed. There is A LOT of biological agriculture, i.e., no pesticides, no hormones, no spraying, etc.

No wonder they are prettier and healthier than we are....

Sara