The ??????? paradox.

[jon1968]

Hi, I remember seeing a food programme, possibly about Christmas dinners and one of the foodies extolling the virtues of duck - he mentioned a town or region (in France I think) where they eat tons of fatty duck but have the lowest rate of heart disease and it's called 'The (town name) Paradox' - does anyone know where this is?

[Jules001]

can't ehlp with the name of the town I'm afraid, but this article mentions the name of the man who is supposed to have discovered the link - might help you find the town
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/10/the_par adoxical_duck_confit.php

[The Tree]

sorry i cant help you with the name of the town but i do recall hearing about something similar a few years back.except it was about a town in italy.basically a lot of the families in the town were related.there blood contained something that got rid of fat which in turn would prevent any build up of fat.they ate and ate and wouldnt put on weight and had a nearly non existant rate of heart disease.sorry now it was years ago i heard about it but thats what i remember about it if it helps with your story

[Clanad]

Discussed in this excerpt:

During the TV broadcast "60 minutes" presented in November, 1991 on CBS, Doctor Serge Renaud gave several millions Americans the opportunity of discovering the "French Paradox".

He showed that in most countries, a high consumption of saturated grease is largely correlated to an important number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

It is not the case in France, and in particular in the Toulouse region (South West), famous for its Cassoulet (baked beans with fat duck or goose, pork...) where death due to coronary disease is low.

After the talk about "French Paradox" on American TV Doctor Klasky decided to review his study.

Among the patients of "Kaiser Permanente" medical center, the analyses showed that wine-drinkers presented less risk of death due to cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers.

In fact, according to Professor Masquelier of Bordeaux University (France) wine present in blood accelerates the elimination of cholesterol.

[jon1968]

Thanks very much, I've been reminded it was a Rick Stein prog and he was interviewing/having lunch with a food critic but the web has proved fruitless!!
Not to worry, it was just a quirky question anyway!
Many thanks again.
J

[jon1968]

Oh, and we're now having a row about whether it was duck, or in fact, goose!! Maybe a schoolboy error on my part!

[chris31]

Just about anywhere in South West France - for duck or goose - The Gers (Auch), Les Landes(Mont de Marsan), Pyr�n�es Orientales (Perpignan), Hautes Pyr�n�es (Lordes), Pyr�n�es Atlantique (Biarritz), The Lot (Cahors), Dordogne (Sarlat / P�riguex), Ari�ge (Foix), Haute Garonne (Toulouse), Gironde (Bordeaux), Aude (carcassonne), Tarn (Castres), Aveyron (Rodez), tarn et Garonne (Montauban), Lot et Garonne (Villeneuve sur lot) - Rick Stein did a prog where he sailed down the canal du Midi from Bordeaux to S�te - it could have been this programme, perhaps