Evidence, allegedly

The French Paradox Files

Health-adjacent curiosity handled carefully: studies, caveats, and the wellness claims that deserve a raised eyebrow.

Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "The $8 Mushroom Latte vs. a $14 Glass of Burgundy: A Scientific Comparison"
The Evidence

The $8 Mushroom Latte vs. a $14 Glass of Burgundy: A Scientific Comparison

Both promise to fix your brain, calm your nervous system, and justify the price. One has human clinical trial data. The other has very compelling packaging and a lot of mice.

5 min read·July 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "1.8 Million People Were Studied. Cheese Was Not the Problem."
The Evidence

1.8 Million People Were Studied. Cheese Was Not the Problem.

A landmark meta-analysis covering 1.8 million participants found that moderate cheese consumption is not linked to cardiovascular disease — and may actually reduce the risk. The $72 billion wellness industry has been unusually quiet about this.

4 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "Why Champagne and Triple-Crème Brie Feels Like Cheating (The Chemistry)"
The Evidence

Why Champagne and Triple-Crème Brie Feels Like Cheating (The Chemistry)

Brut Champagne and triple-crème Brie is not a pairing so much as a loophole — one engineered by acidity, carbonation, and an unseemly amount of butterfat working in perfect, clinically unverified harmony.

4 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "Meal Replacement Shakes: 50 Years of Replacing Food with Disappointment"
The Evidence

Meal Replacement Shakes: 50 Years of Replacing Food with Disappointment

From Metrecal in 1959 to Soylent in 2013, the meal replacement industry has spent six decades solving a problem most humans did not have. The promise stays identical. The food does not improve.

4 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "The Night 22 Million Americans Decided Red Wine Was Medicine"
The Evidence

The Night 22 Million Americans Decided Red Wine Was Medicine

How a 1991 60 Minutes segment turned observational epidemiology into the most successful wine marketing campaign in television history.

3 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "Your Detox Tea Is Mostly a Laxative (And One Had Prozac)"
The Evidence

Your Detox Tea Is Mostly a Laxative (And One Had Prozac)

A systematic review of detox diet claims found no compelling evidence they work. Meanwhile, the FDA discovered one brand was secretly dosing customers with antidepressants.

3 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "Époisses: The Cheese That Got Famous for a Crime It Never Committed"
The Evidence

Époisses: The Cheese That Got Famous for a Crime It Never Committed

The legendary Burgundian cheese supposedly banned from Parisian public transit. Spoiler: it wasn't.

3 min read·June 2026
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Editorial wine and cheese photograph for "The $6.8 Trillion Guilt Machine vs. a Tuesday Night Pinot"
The Evidence

The $6.8 Trillion Guilt Machine vs. a Tuesday Night Pinot

The global wellness industry has manufactured a perfect economic engine: first create the guilt, then sell the cure. Meanwhile, the French have been doing Tuesday night dinners for centuries without a subscription model.

4 min read
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Is Wine Good For You? A Carefully Selected Literature Review
The Evidence

Is Wine Good For You? A Carefully Selected Literature Review

We reviewed the available scientific literature on wine and health, excluding the studies that disagreed with our thesis.

7 min read·March 2026
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