BEVERAGES 73 



Why should not their product be similar? Our little 

 acquaintances, the yeast plants, help to answer this 

 question. In the process of manufacturing alcoholic 

 drinks, multitudes of these tiny plants change the 

 sugar of these substances to alcohol and carbonic acid 

 gas. The carbonic acid gas passes off, and leaves 

 alcohol and water the principal ingredients. 



Then surely alcoholic drinks must help the digestive 

 organs to make better use of other foods, or they would 

 not be so largely used ! On the contrary, it has been 

 found that alcohol, instead of helping, retards digestion, 

 especially of proteids. If such drinks are used to any 

 great extent, they weaken the muscles, harden the 

 tissues, and so derange the heart, liver, kidneys, and 

 other important organs that a person's comfort, useful- 

 ness, ability to resist disease, and length of life may 

 all be greatly lessened. 



Some people swallow an alcoholic drink when they 

 are cold, thinking it will warm their bodies. It does 

 seem to do so, because alcohol makes the heart beat 

 faster and drives blood to the surface of the body. 

 It must soon rest from this over-stimulation, however, 

 and the general warmth will become diminished. A 

 cup of hot lemonade or hot milk is far better, be- 

 cause either warms the body without causing over- 

 stimulation and consequent reaction. A drunkard 

 freezes easily because alcohol causes the heart to drive 

 too much blood to the surface of the body, and so an 

 undue amount of heat radiates from the skin. 



