Living With An Alcoholic » Alcohol Consumption

Vitamins and Supplements that might be beneficial a person suffering from Alcoholism

Daniel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Alcoholism can cause the body to deplete nutrients that are necessary for the normal and healthy functioning of the body. Often times, alcoholics will have a vitamin deficiency especially the vitamins in the B complex category. A person with this illness might be eating some of the best balanced meals yet end up with a vitamin deficiency. There is also an indication that people with a deficiency of vitamin B might be more susceptible to becoming dependent on alcohol. Let’s take a closer look shall we….

Alcoholics might need additional concentrations of vitamins that their food is most likely not going to provide enough of and the vitamins and supplements that might need further replenishment are:

* thiamin or B1

* folic acid

* zinc

* phosphorus

* calcium

* magnesium

* potassium

* Vitamin E

Now, the group of vitamins known as B complex will be the best route for most people as it tends to be reasonable. It just makes sense to take the whole vitamin B complex together. The need to take B vitamins is increased when a person consumes a lot of alcohol or sugar. Furthermore, an alcoholic beverage, typically supplies a person with no nutrition yet it is a simple carbohydrate which provides energy and therefore acts a lot like sugar. Metabolizing these components increases a persons needs for vitamins.

Some problems that can develop if a person becomes vitamin B deficient are:

* Anemia

* Brain damage due to alcohol induced Korsakoff’s syndrome which is a memory disorder

Some of the benefits of taking the B complex of vitamins are:

* Helps with low blood sugar

* Helps to calm a person’s body down

* can help with depression

* can help with the D.T.’s

While I have seemingly focused on Vitamin B complex, other nutrients – when supplied as an additional supplement – might provide enhanced results.

These supplements are:

* high potency multivitamin and multimineral supplement

* vitamin c helps to neutralize toxins

* Chromium

* Lecithin

* L-Glutamine this is important as it can help reduce cravings for alcoholic beverages

Now that we have had a glimpse at what vitamins are needed in increased quantities for a person living with alcoholism and that are beneficial in helping to restore deficiencies, let’s look at what might prevent alcoholism.

Is it even possible that a vitamin could help to prevent Alcoholism? Let’s just touch on this briefly. It is not commonly known that B vitamins might help to reduce the craving for alcohol. But put another way, if a person is deficient in The Vitamin B complex this might cause a person to have an increased craving for alcohol. As such, based on some studies there is a suggestion that a deficiency of Vitamin B might make you susceptible to an unhealthy habit of drinking alcoholic beverages.

So, you might say that the lack of enough B1 can cause alcohol consumption; or vitamin B1 deficiency can be a consequence of drinking too much alcohol.

Well, as you can probably gather from this information vitamins can be a very big asset and a much needed component in the diet for those who suffer from alcohol dependency. It might even help to prevent someone from becoming dependent on alcohol. By applying good eating habits and a good vitamin regimen bad drinking might be avoided.

Keep in mind that vitamins and nutritional therapy are important in the maintenance of an alcoholic’s system in a major way. So, be sure to take consultation with a nutritional support physician to help you with the treatment of alcoholism.

The threats of alcoholism

Daniel — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:17:00 +0000

Alcoholism is one of the most wide-spread problems in the world in terms of substance abuse. Along with caffeine, alcohol has been shown to be one of the most widely abused substances. Prolonged alcohol abuse can really take a toll on both the body and the social life of an individual, and in this article, we’ll explain some of the dangers that are associated with alcoholism in order to clearly show exactly what types of problems alcoholics face with regards to their health.

One of the organs that is most damaged from the long-term abuse of alcohol is the liver. It is the biggest organ located inside the human body, and drinking can cause cirrhosis to occur. Cirrhosis is caused by alcohol, and results in the healthy tissues of the liver being turned into scar tissue, inhibiting the liver’s function. Early signs of cirrhosis of the liver may include pain in the abdomen, nausea, fatigue, and swelling of the ankles.

There are also many heightened risks of cancers that an individual subjects themselves to when they regularly abuse alcohol over a long period of time. Alcohol has been indeed classified as a carcinogen by the United States, and one faces an increased risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and larynx when regularly drinking.

One of the most morbid side-effects that alcohol abuse can have on the human body is known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. When a woman is pregnant and she drinks alcohol, the fetus is exposed to all of the harmful effects of the substance. They may face developmental problems, such as an inability to successfully receive oxygen and nutrition. Also, the child may end up having several different deformities due to the alcohol consumption, such as malformations of the face, organ deformities, or mental retardation. Even when not pregnant, a woman’s reproductive health can be greatly damaged by an alcohol abuse problem. Menopause may hit earlier in problem drinkers, and some women with serious drinking problems find that they have decreased fertility and irregular menstrual cycles. Men who are heavy alcoholics often are found to have lower sperm counts and weaker sperm than those who do not drink.

There is a long list of other problems that alcoholism can result in when left unchecked. The heart is particularly susceptible to alcohol’s harmful effects. Alcoholics often have higher levels of blood pressure than the rest of the population, and alcoholics face an increased rate of heart disease. Decreased blood flow to the arms and legs is another common side-effect. Heavy prolonged drinking can also lead to strokes and brain damage.

As you can see, there are plenty of things that alcohol does to damage your body. Drinking in moderation may not result in all of the problems listed above, but if you are concerned for your health and you have a problem with drinking, you should address it as soon as you can in order to limit the damage that is done to your body and work towards a better tomorrow.

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The New Facts on What Causes the Alcoholic Blackout

Daniel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:07:00 +0000

The alcoholic blackout is defined as a period of amnesia or memory loss that is caused when alcohol consumption levels prevent the formation of memories in the brain. The memory gap usually extends for many hours but can go on for several days. Interestingly, the person can act normally and carry on normal conversations during the period of blackout but will never remember anything that went on. Blackouts are sometimes referred to as alcohol poisoning by the medical community and are considered an early high-risk sign of alcoholism.

It is entirely possible for blackouts to occur after just a few drinks or even the first time a person drinks at all however, blackouts most generally occur in an alcoholic. Once the disease of alcoholism has become so severe that the person cannot function without drinking, and has lost complete control over sobriety, the blackouts take over. Blackouts are an indication of the severity of the alcoholism. In some cases, it can be the rise in the blood levels of alcohol and not the actual amount of alcohol itself that triggers the blackout. The presence of blackouts can definitely indicate severity of the alcoholism however; the absence of blackouts does not necessarily indicate that the person does not have a problem with alcohol.

There has been new evidence to show that blackouts can be connected to people with a previous head injury. In this case, the mere presence of alcohol can cause the blackout rather than the level of the alcohol.

The amount of alcohol in a standard size drink is approximately one ounce. Interestingly, the human body can process only once ounce of liquor in one hour. Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol even ten to twenty drinks in one sitting will cause the body to become overloaded and cannot process the alcohol efficiently. Signs that a person is in danger of a blackout include 1) major loss of motor control, 2) loss of good judgment, 3) slowing of breathing, 4) slowing of the heart rate, and 5) nausea. Another indication that a person is at the risk of beginning to blackout after drinking is the consistent development of a hangover. Hangovers can indicate that the person is drinking alcohol excessively and regularly and can be at risk for blackouts in the future.

Someone who is having regular blackouts can attempt to overcome their excessive drinking by cutting back on their alcohol intake, stop drinking alcohol or set limits on how much alcohol to drink in a sitting. These things can work but usually in the person who has just begun to have alcohol related blackouts. If these suggestions do not work it is a good idea for the person to solicit professional assistance. For many people this will mean joining a group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or some other twelve-step program that can help them get their drinking under control. Professional detoxification is another possibility and can be quite successful for the alcoholic who drinks until blacking out.

It is important for the alcoholic to understand why he or she is doing something as harmful himself or herself as drinking until blacking out. Even more importantly is to find a way to stop drinking to the point of blackout. For safety and health, the bottom line is to stop.

The College Environment And Alcoholism

Daniel — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:02:00 +0000

College students have a special risk factor towards the alcohol dependent disease, alcoholism. Students of higher education are typically away from parental and familial support groups. Some students are for the first time experiencing the taste of total freedom of choice. It is not uncommon to have young students “let loose” of their otherwise inhibitions, moral upbringing or convictions and try new things. Parties are perfect opportunities for youth to experiment with newly discovered freedom. Alcohol can be found at most college parties, even if alcohol is prohibited. Others use alcohol to deal with the pressures of college.

It is a common news story: Binge Drinking On Local College leads to… Frequent binge drinking contributes to students having difficulty coping with classes, remembering what they hear in class and attending class or completing assignments.

Statistically 1 in every 5 binge drinkers is classified by evaluation as having alcohol dependence also called alcoholism. When you look at the statistics for an over all college campus population and realize that 1 in 20 students have a alcohol dependency problem, it becomes clear that binge drinking increases your risk of alcoholism. Some colleges even have reputations for being “party colleges”. Students come to these colleges expecting to encounter parties and alcohol. The expectation fuels the occurrence and the camaraderie seen among students who party can encourage binge drinking. A recent study came to the conclusion that “Male students are at greater risk than females. Nearly one in 10 college men under age 24 met a 12-month diagnosis of alcohol dependence compared to one in 20 college women under age 24.” Male-bonding rituals can be in part to blame for this statistic.

It is a sad realization that many college students do not seek treatment for alcoholism because of the “norm” status that drinking has on campus. Some students may even view drinking as a rite of passage for being a college student. Class pressure also gets the blame for the frequent incidence of alcohol consumption. Alcohol relaxes frayed final exam nerves, or some believe that drinking is the only way to numb the anxieties of heavy class loads.

Putting aside the obvious affects of health and academic consequences; alcohol consumption contributes to college assaults, deaths, injury, drunk driving, property damage, sexual abuse, unsafe sex, and vandalism.

College administrators and parents are becoming more aware of the problems associated with drinking and college students. According to the collegedrinknigprevention.gov Website two recommendations for colleges to consider when addressing the problem of drinking are: The 3-in1 Framework and the 4 Tier programs.

3-in-1 Framework:

This is a multiple component program that targets the individuals who are at risk for alcoholism, the student population as a whole, the college structure and the community that embraces the college.

This report, “A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges” is geared to encourage presidents, administrators, college prevention specialists, students and community members to think about college drinking and the dangers it represents to all involved in the campus life including the community. Complete information can be found here: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/StatsSummaries/3inone.aspx

4-Tier

To quote the Website, “To provide a useful list that accounts for the lack of research as well as negative findings, Task Force members placed prevention strategies in descending tiers on the basis of the evidence available to support or refute them.” The full page can be found on: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/StatsSummaries/4tier.aspx

It is important that not only students be informed about the dangers of alcohol and how drinking can lead to the chronic and progressive disease, alcoholism; but parents, educators, and community members need to be educated as well and encouraged to take action.

Production of heat

Daniel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:07:00 +0000

“The first usual test for a force-producing food,” says Dr. Hunt, “and that to which other foods of that class respond, is the production of heat in the combination of oxygen therewith. This heat means vital force, and is, in no small degree, a measure of the comparative value of the so-called respiratory foods. If we examine the fats, the starches and the sugars, we can trace and estimate the processes by which they evolve heat and are changed into vital force, and can weigh the capacities of different foods. We find that the consumption of carbon by union with oxygen is the law, that heat is the product, and that the legitimate result is force, while the result of the union of the hydrogen of the foods with oxygen is water. If alcohol comes at all under this class of foods, we rightly expect to find some of the evidences which attach to the hydrocarbons.”

What, then, is the result of experiments in this direction? They have been conducted through long periods and with the greatest care, by men of the highest attainments in chemistry and physiology, and the result is given in these few words, by Dr. H.R. Wood, Jr., in his Materia Medica. “No one has been able to detect in the blood any of the ordinary results of its oxidation.” That is, no one has been able to find that alcohol has undergone combustion, like fat, or starch, or sugar, and so given heat to the body.

Alcohol and reduction of temperature.

Instead of increasing it; and it has even been used in fevers as an anti-pyretic. So uniform has been the testimony of physicians in Europe and America as to the cooling effects of alcohol, that Dr. Wood says, in his Materia Medica, “that it does not seem worth while to occupy space with a discussion of the subject.” Liebermeister, one of the most learned contributors to Zeimssen’s Cyclopaedia of the Practice of Medicine, 1875, says: “I long since convinced myself, by direct experiments, that alcohol, even in comparatively large doses, does not elevate the temperature of the body in either well or sick people.” So well had this become known to Arctic voyagers, that, even before physiologists had demonstrated the fact that alcohol reduced, instead of increasing, the temperature of the body, they had learned that spirits lessened their power to withstand extreme cold. “In the Northern regions,” says Edward Smith, “it was proved that the entire exclusion of spirits was necessary, in order to retain heat under these unfavorable conditions.”

Excessive Drinking How to Know When Someone Needs Professional Help

Daniel — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:14:00 +0000

Many people drink excessively but how to define when a drinker has reached the point that they need an intervention or professional help is a more difficult decision to make. Experts are no longer categorizing alcoholics just by the fact that they drink so much alcohol that it affects their lives but now alcoholism can be divided into varying degrees of alcoholism. Experts are now defining alcohol use by the level of harm the alcohol is causing. Alcohol is a drug that affects a persons mind, body, and spirit. Although, alcohol is a legal drug, addiction is a common problem and carries with it a multitude of social and psychological issues. Using these new categories, it is possible to get help for the alcoholics at earlier stages. For definition purposes the term “one drink” is referring to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 90-proof liquor.

Moderate Drinking:

Moderate drinking particularly red wine appears to offer health benefits. Moderate drinking is defined as equal to or less than two drinks a day for men and equal to or less than one drink a day for women.

Hazardous (Heavy) Drinking:

Hazardous drinking puts people at risk for adverse health effects. People who are heavy drinkers generally consume the following:

* More than 14 drinks per week or 4-5 drinks at one sitting for men.

* More than seven drinks per week or three drinks at one sitting for women.

* Frequent intoxication in either men or women.

Harmful Drinking:

Drinking is considered harmful when alcohol consumption has actually caused physical or psychological harm. This is determined by the following:

* There is clear evidence that alcohol is responsible for harm to the person.

* The nature of the harm can be identified.

* Alcohol consumption has been persistent for at least a month and has occurred regularly for at least a year.

* The person is not alcohol dependent.

Many times once a person is drinking to the point of needing professional help he or she does not realize the place they are in and it is up to family and close friends to recognize the signs. Once the drinking comes to the point that it begins to cause problems at work such as absenteeism or loss of productivity that can be a sign that the drinking is out of control. Tolerance is another sign that the person is drinking too much. After a period of time it takes more and more alcohol for the person get the same level of intoxication and this tolerance will eventually lead to addiction. Some other signs to look for include the person drinking alone, making excuses to drink, showing signs of withdrawal, and drinking more than they had planned. An alcoholic will black out once they reach a level of alcohol in their body that cannot be processed fast enough. Typically once a person drinks to the point of blacking out on a regular basis they can be correctly identified as an alcoholic.

Drinking and Driving The Dangers and Penalties

Daniel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. Drunk driving is illegal in all jurisdictions of the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 40 percent of all traffic related deaths in 2004 were related to alcohol. Intoxication is determined by the levels of alcohol in the blood, which is call the blood alcohol concentration or BAC.

A BAC of .01 is enough to cause impairment and cause a traffic incident to be determined as “alcohol related”. In most states a BAC of .08 or greater will get a person arrested and determined to be under the influence of alcohol. Some states include a lesser charge of intoxication, which includes a BAC of .05 to .07. All states have a zero tolerance policy for drivers under the age of 21 because alcohol consumption is illegal before that time. Often times a person under the age of 21 will lose his or her driving license if they are caught purchasing alcohol or even consuming alcohol regardless of whether or not they are in a vehicle or driving at the time. Many jurisdictions employ much higher penalties for anyone whose BAC is .20 or higher even if they did not cause a traffic incident but were simply operating a motor vehicle. To be able to drive at this level of intoxication the person would have to have been getting drunk regularly for many years to build up enough tolerance to the alcohol and more than likely the person would have driven drunk previously as well.

All drunk driving offenses carry possible jail terms. However, most first offenders are given lesser sentences such as driver license suspension or restriction, fines, mandatory driving classes, and alcohol counseling. Some jurisdictions sentence all drunk drivers to jail no matter what the situation. Most recently, states have begun to use the breath test that is installed in the offender’s vehicle. In order to start the car the driver must breathe into the device. If the person is intoxicated, the car will not start. Many states impose higher sentences on people who are transporting children, have open containers of alcohol in their vehicles, or who are driving in a particularly reckless or dangerous manner. Habitual drivers also receive stricter sentences. For example in Michigan, a third offense is an automatic felony and an automatic five-year jail sentence.

In recent years, states have tried to become more unified in the way they handle drunken driving situations in an effort to make the laws more uniform from state to state. Because of the increase in drunken driving occurrences, the states are also making the penalties for doing so much stricter than ever before. First offenders are being penalized more than in recent years in an effort to teach them not to ever drive under the influence again. Multiple offenders are receive extremely strict sentences as well so that they cannot offend again and possible do more damage.

Driving under the influence of alcohol decreases a person’s ability to react appropriately in driving situations and slows reflections and reaction time. These people are not able to make driving decisions that are necessary to avoid accidents or to simply be safe in general. Drunk driving can cause, major property damage as well as severely injure or fatally wound other people. Many times the drunk person walks away from the accident unharmed because of the relaxation effect of the alcohol on the body.

Alcoholism Is It Curable or Controllable?

Daniel — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Alcoholism is a progressive and potentially fatal disease. Alcoholism itself is not curable but it is possible to recover completely. Recovering from alcohol is to abstain from all forms of alcoholic beverages and medications that contain alcohol such as cough medicines.

Alcoholism is considered a chronic illness. As with any chronic illness, it affects entire families. As a result, the recovery process also affects the entire family and network of friends of the alcoholic. The good news is that these people can serve as a good support network to enable the alcoholic to abstain from drinking alcohol. The same way a family would support a chronically ill person is how the alcoholic should be treated because alcoholism is chronic.

Anyone who is an alcoholic will be an alcoholic for the rest of his or her lives. Even though there is no cure for alcoholism, there is hope for the alcoholic. That is where recovery comes in – the abstinence from all alcohol on the part of the addicted person. This is where the control part of the disease comes into play. It is important to be able to control the desire to have alcohol and to choose not to drink it. Unfortunately, the sheer nature of being an alcoholic is defined by the lack of an ability to control ones drinking. In order to enter the recovery phase and thus control the disease itself, the alcoholic must come to the place where he or she is able and willing to take control and stop reaching for alcohol. Research has shown that the alcoholic cannot willfully control his drinking and therefore should be abstinent. The alcoholic has to accept responsibility for his addiction and recovery.

There are some programs that highlight the issue of control of alcoholism and they do not mandate abstinence from alcohol. Rationing and moderation programs such as these allow the person to have alcohol but with every drink, the person becomes less able to decide that the next drink is a bad idea. Most alcoholics are unable to limit their drinking and absolutely must abstain from alcohol all together to be successful. This is still considered being in control of the disease. In fact, once the alcoholic has exhibited control over the disease by abstinence, rationing or moderation the person is said to be in remission.

The American Psychiatric Association considers remission to be where the physical and mental aspects of alcoholism are no longer evident regardless of whether or not the person is still drinking. Most others use the term remission only after the alcoholic has completely stopped the consumption of alcohol.

Alcoholism, regardless of whether the alcoholic totally abstains from alcohol or just drinks in moderation, is a controllable disease. However, alcoholism is not considered curable because the alcoholic can relapse back into the acute phase of the disease many times with just one drink or one episode of over drinking. Even when the alcoholic is in remission, he is still considered an alcoholic and will be an alcoholic for the rest of his life. Regardless of the amount of years since active alcohol consumption, the person remains an alcoholic. As with any chronic illness, the possibility is always at the forefront for the person to relapse into acute, active alcoholism.

Alcohol Related Health Risks for Women

Daniel — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:17:00 +0000

Women process alcohol differently than men. Women who are alcoholics or even occasionally drink too much alcohol face much greater health risks than men who drink the same amounts. Women who drink will get drunk faster than men get and become addicted to alcohol faster than men become. Although men are more likely to drink alcohol and drink in larger amounts, gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol, and take longer to break it down and remove. In other words, upon drinking equal amounts, women have higher alcohol levels in their blood than men, and the immediate effects occur more quickly and last longer. These differences also make women more vulnerable to alcohol’s long-term effects on their health.

Research has shown that they also suffer the consequences of abuse-related illnesses a lot quicker than men do. The effects on the liver are more severe for women than for men and women have a higher risk of having alcohol-related liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis. Proportionately, more women die of alcohol related cirrhosis than men do.

Some alcohol-related illnesses that female alcoholics are at risk for include heart disease, ulcers, reproductive problems, pancreatitis, memory loss, and osteoporosis. In the late stages of alcoholism, women can develop hypertension, anemia, and malnutrition faster than men according to the Centers for Disease Control. Several recent research projects have determined that excessive alcohol consumption in women can result in breast cancer and different cancers of the digestive tract. A recent study showed that women who drink two to five alcoholic drinks per day have a 41 percent increase in their risk of getting breast cancer. Research has shown that excessive drinking in women actually causes the brain to shrink.

There are consequences of excessive alcohol use that are not illness related but are also specific to women. Women who drink in excess or binge drink are more likely to have unprotected sex with multiple or unknown partners which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. Binge drinking also puts women at risk for sexual assault and rape. This is a bigger problem on college campuses.

Menstrual disorders and fertility problems can be caused from heavy drinking. Even occasional drinking can cause infertility and make otherwise fertile women unable to become pregnant. Once pregnant, heavy drinking can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects in the infant called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Research has shown that women who drink during pregnancy are more likely to have a baby die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Excessive intake of alcohol causes severe health consequences in both men and women but studies have shown that it takes less alcohol to cause the same ill effects in women. The long-term health risks coupled with the chances of death make alcoholism and binge drinking in women an activity with absolutely no benefits. Occasional drinking on holidays or special occasions is shown to be acceptable but women should take extra care to control their alcohol intake so they do not become addicted and they should never binge drink.

Alcohol Has No Food Value

Daniel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:23:00 +0000

Alcohol has no food value and is exceedingly limited in its action as a remedial agent. Dr. Henry Monroe says, “every kind of substance employed by man as food consists of sugar, starch, oil and glutinous matter mingled together in various proportions. These are designed for the support of the animal frame. The glutinous principles of food fibrine, albumen and casein are employed to build up the structure while the oil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to generate heat in the body”.

Now it is clear that if alcohol is a food, it will be found to contain one or more of these substances. There must be in it either the nitrogenous elements found chiefly in meats, eggs, milk, vegetables and seeds, out of which animal tissue is built and waste repaired or the carbonaceous elements found in fat, starch and sugar, in the consumption of which heat and force are evolved.

“The distinctness of these groups of foods,” says Dr. Hunt, “and their relations to the tissue-producing and heat-evolving capacities of man, are so definite and so confirmed by experiments on animals and by manifold tests of scientific, physiological and clinical experience, that no attempt to discard the classification has prevailed. To draw so straight a line of demarcation as to limit the one entirely to tissue or cell production and the other to heat and force production through ordinary combustion and to deny any power of interchangeability under special demands or amid defective supply of one variety is, indeed, untenable. This does not in the least invalidate the fact that we are able to use these as ascertained landmarks”.

How these substances when taken into the body, are assimilated and how they generate force, are well known to the chemist and physiologist, who is able, in the light of well-ascertained laws, to determine whether alcohol does or does not possess a food value. For years, the ablest men in the medical profession have given this subject the most careful study, and have subjected alcohol to every known test and experiment, and the result is that it has been, by common consent, excluded from the class of tissue-building foods. “We have never,” says Dr. Hunt, “seen but a single suggestion that it could so act, and this a promiscuous guess. One writer (Hammond) thinks it possible that it may ’somehow’ enter into combination with the products of decay in tissues, and ‘under certain circumstances might yield their nitrogen to the construction of new tissues.’ No parallel in organic chemistry, nor any evidence in animal chemistry, can be found to surround this guess with the areola of a possible hypothesis”.

Dr. Richardson says: “Alcohol contains no nitrogen; it has none of the qualities of structure-building foods; it is incapable of being transformed into any of them; it is, therefore, not a food in any sense of its being a constructive agent in building up the body.” Dr. W.B. Carpenter says: “Alcohol cannot supply anything which is essential to the true nutrition of the tissues.” Dr. Liebig says: “Beer, wine, spirits, etc., furnish no element capable of entering into the composition of the blood, muscular fibre, or any part which is the seat of the principle of life.” Dr. Hammond, in his Tribune Lectures, in which he advocates the use of alcohol in certain cases, says: “It is not demonstrable that alcohol undergoes conversion into tissue.” Cameron, in his Manuel of Hygiene, says: “There is nothing in alcohol with which any part of the body can be nourished.” Dr. E. Smith, F.R.S., says: “Alcohol is not a true food. It interferes with alimentation.” Dr. T.K. Chambers says: “It is clear that we must cease to regard alcohol, as in any sense, a food”.

“Not detecting in this substance,” says Dr. Hunt, “any tissue-making ingredients, nor in its breaking up any combinations, such as we are able to trace in the cell foods, nor any evidence either in the experience of physiologists or the trials of alimentarians, it is not wonderful that in it we should find neither the expectancy nor the realization of constructive power.”

Not finding in alcohol anything out of which the body can be built up or its waste supplied, it is next to be examined as to its heat-producing quality.

Read more on Alcohol Has No Food Value…

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