Dietician: “The French Paradox” refers to the unusual concurrence in the population of France of a low incidence of heart disease and a diet high in fat.
Conclusion
If North Americans wants to be healthier without cutting fat intake, they should drink more wine.
Intermediate Conclusion
French people drink a lot of red wine, which apparently mitigates the bad effects of the fat in their diet.
Evidence
In France, they have a diet high in fat and yet a low incidence of heart disease. In North America, they have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world.
Evaluate
There seems to be more than one attack point for this argument. We're not sure that the reason French people have low heart disease despite high fat is that they drink lots of red wine. The author is stipulating that as "the most likely explanation" but we don't have to accept that as fact. I listed it as an Intermediate Conclusion to reflect the fact that it's still just an opinion.
But let's say we accept the opinion as fact: drinking lots of red wine helps French people mitigate the harmful effects of the fat in their diet.
Does that prove that North Americans would be healthier by drinking more red wine?
First of all, the argument has to assume a difference. It has to assume that North Americans aren't already drinking as much red wine as the French do.
Secondly, the argument has to assume a similarity. It has to assume that North Americans have this crazy high rate of heart disease (in large part) because of fat in their diet. Otherwise, it makes no sense to prescribe the French 'remedy' for fat, if North Americans don't each much fat to begin with.
Finally, it seems to conflate "lowering your risk of heart disease" with "getting healthier". Maybe red wine would help North Americans with their hearts but harm their health in other ways (liver, blood pressure, etc.)
Goal
Look for an answer that offers an alternative explanation for why French people have high fat / low heart disease, an answer that makes it seem less plausible that red wine is the causal difference-maker, or an answer that suggests that even if red wine made North Americans less likely to get heart disease, it might make them less healthy in some other way.