It has also been suggested that the French paradox is an illusion, created in part by differences in the way that French authorities collect health statistics, as compared to other countries, and in part by the long-term effects, in the coronary health of French citizens, of changes in dietary patterns which were adopted years earlier. Nevertheless the French diet may be considered to be a type of Mediterranean diet - that is, one consisting largely of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil, with limited amounts of lean protein from fish and poultry - which has fairly well established benefits.