A diet high in saturated fats increases a person' s risk of developing heart disease  Regular consumption of red wine reduces that risk  Per-capita consumption of saturated fats is currently about the same in France as in the United States, but there is less heart disease there than in the United States because consumption of red wine is higher in France
The difference in regular red-wine consumption has been narrowing, but no similar convergence in heart-disease rates has occurred
Consumption of saturated fats is related more strongly to the growth of fatty deposits on artery walls, which reduce blood flow to the heart, than it is to heart disease directly.