Smoking. Hypertension. Lack of exercise. A high-fat diet. All of these things can lead to coronary heart disease (CHD). Yet the French, who are no strangers to these risk factors, suffer the lowest level of heart disease in the Western World. This is known as "The French Paradox."

On April 22, Serge Renaud, the scientist who solved this paradox, came to Penn to discuss his findings. Renaud is the researcher who identified the connection between France's low CHD mortality rates and the moderate and regular consumption of alcoholic beverages.

During his lecture at Meyerson Hall, Renaud emphasized the importance of "moderate and regular consumption": 20 to 40 grams of alcohol, three or four days per week. He pointed out that this type of drinking reduces the risk of CHD by 20 percent to 60 percent. Binge drinking, on the other hand, increases the risk.

Renaud also noted that wine, particularly red wine, provides more benefits than other alcoholic beverages. According to Renaud, a recent study has shown that wine offers 30 percent to 40 percent more protection against CHD than beer or spirits. This may come as bad news to Americans, who prefer beer. In Mediterranean countries, wine is regularly served with meals, and in France, the moderate consumption of wine is the highest in the world on a population basis.