Relocating to Languedoc - to improve your health?

We all know about how fabulous French cuisine is, the way everyone eats well, and how, for those of us lucky enough to live in Languedoc-Roussillon, the Mediterranean diet has huge health benefits. It’s true that you can find great quality local produce, green salad on practically every restaurant menu, and olive oil, fish and garlic-a-go-go in many Languedoc kitchens.

However, many Mediterraneans cancel out the health benefits of their diet by lighting up cigarettes before and after meals (thank goodness smoking in restaurants and bars has been outlawed in France). If you hate smoking, you’re going to have to learn to live with it in France (around 30 per cent of French adults smoke, compared to the UK figure of around 25 per cent).

Vegetarians will need to be flexible. On the Languedoc coast, where fresh seafood is the order of the day, it will be assumed that even if you’re a veggie, you eat fish. Dining out in the Languedoc hinterland? Goats cheese, green salad, pizza and omelette are staple fare. You’re unlikely to get fat. You are, however, going to get very bored.

The sun thing is a double-edged sword. Not enough, and you’re miserable or downright deficient in vitamin D; too much of it, and you end up with skin that could be made into a handbag.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Compared to UK city centres, France’s villages and towns are quieter. Finding locally-grown produce is a doddle, and if you opt for life in the Languedoc, chances are you’ll adapt to the local diet and spend more time in the sun.

Just remember to avoid smoking, don’t over-do it on the booze (good quality wine is cheaper in Languedoc than in the UK, and there’s far more of it about), and cover up when you go outside.