Live-longer secrets from women around the world

France: savour your food

It has baffled health experts for years that, despite a diet full of cream, butter, cheese and meat, the French are slimmer, have lower levels of heart disease and live longer than Brits do. The protective effects of garlic and red wine aside, some experts now say it's attitude that counts. ‘French women think about good things to eat. Other women worry about the bad things they eat,' says Mireille Guiliano, author of 'French Women Don't Get Fat' (Chatto & Windus, £12). ‘And French women don't eat fat-free, sugar-free or anything artificially stripped of natural flavour. They go for the real thing in moderation.'

In France, portion sizes are smaller - in fast food outlets, restaurants, supermarkets, even in cookbooks. People eat less, take longer over it and enjoy the experience more.

Action point Banish fast food. Take time to prepare food, eat slowly, choose quality over quantity, stop before you're full and have a salad with every meal.

Extract from French Women Don't Get Fat © Mireille Guiliano 2005

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