Mediterranean diet and the French paradox: Two distinct biogeographic concepts for one consolidated scientific theory on the role of nutrition in coronary heart disease

Extract

Time for primary review 26 days.

1 Introduction

Scientists and physicians have long been debating the Mediterranean-style diet and the French paradox for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, folksy they sound, these two biogeographic concepts can still be very useful to explain unexpected or controversial medical and scientific data, such as the low mortality rate from CHD in Mediterranean Southern Europe and in France as compared with other European countries. Understanding these concepts may help improve our ability to treat and prevent CHD. Most of the present confusion probably comes from the consistent underestimation by physicians and scientists of the role of nutrition in CHD. This article is not aimed at giving a comprehensive review of these two complex notions, which have to be analyzed in a broad geographic, climatic, agricultural, historical and socioeconomic context. We will only provide a superficial overview, in relation to the epidemiology of CHD. Finally, we will try to introduce the two concepts as a fundamental premise of a new scientific theory on the role of nutrition in CHD, a theory that remains to be fully formulated.