Researcher links alcohol intake to good health

Renowned French medical researcher Serge Renaud thinks alcohol is not a big enough part of the American diet. Renaud presented his evidence in a lecture entitled "The French Paradox: Alcohol Intake and Coronary Heart Disease," yesterday afternoon to a group of approximately 40 graduate students and physicians in Meyerson Hall. He explained that consistent alcohol intake is responsible for France's low mortality rate from coronary heart disease (CHD). This is despite the prevalence of high-risk factors in other aspects of French culture. Renaud coined the phrase "the French Paradox" to describe this discrepancy between high-risk behavior and low rates of mortality. His findings were published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet in 1992. During his lecture, Renaud stressed that France's low CHD rate cannot be attributed to genetic makeup. He cited Japan as an example, explaining that expatriate Japanese citizens tend to have much higher CHD rates than those living in Japan. "Once the Japanese moved to the West, their rates for heart disease were the same as their U.S. counterparts," he said. Renaud concluded that external factors -- not genetics -- cause these rates. He cited various studies to illustrate a connection between the low rate of CHD among the French with the regular consumption of alcoholic beverages among the French. According to The Monica Studies, which monitored and examined the diets of four communities in France, the one ingredient that was markedly different was the consumption of wine. "In 10 out of 11 moderate drinkers, there is a lower risk of CHD compared to those who don't drink at all," Renaud said. While there was a 20 to 60 percent decrease in CHD mortality with the consumption of 40 grams of alcohol, Renaud explained that alcohol was only beneficial when people consumed it regularly and spread their drinking out over the week. Binge drinking, or drinking for the purpose of getting drunk, he emphasized, is harmful and detrimental to health. After addressing the group for approximately 30 minutes, Renaud opened the floor to questions. Psychiatry Professor Albert Stunkard said he found the lecture important and informative. "He's very thoughtful because he is both an ethnologist and a pathologist," Stunkard said. "So he understands the population and the mechanisms."