ALCOHOL 231 



in the diet as a substitute for other non-nitrogenous 

 foods. Atwater's experiments, as well as many parallel 

 studies, have made this evident. 



A subject was brought into equilibrium on a ration 

 without alcohol. It was then found possible to withdraw 

 carbohydrates and fats to a certain extent and to replace 

 with alcohol in isodynamic amounts without disturbing 

 the equilibrium. The well-known fattening effect of 

 moderate drinking may be explained as due in part to the 

 whetting of appetite and in part to the sparing of car- 

 bohydrate and fat by the alcohol which is utilized in their 

 stead. Fifty years ago the same fact was recognized by 

 George Henry Lewes, in his interesting "Physiology 

 of Common Life." He tells us how a convention of total 

 abstainers once gathered in the city of Frankfort, in Ger- 

 many, and how the cooks in the hotel in which the delegates V 

 lodged were put to it as never before to supply the pastry ' 

 and pudding ordered by these unfamiliar patrons. The 

 guests for whom the table had heretofore been set were 

 accustomed to supply with alcohol a want which the tee- 

 totalers met with carbohydrate. 



How far the substitution of alcohol for other non- 

 nitrogenous foods may be carried has been much debated. 

 If it is given too freely its oxidation is incomplete and, 

 what is of more practical importance, the cerebral effect 

 becomes prominent. To make the utmost use of alcohol 

 as a nutrient it must be taken in small quantities and 

 frequently. There seems to be a general agreement that 

 from 50 to 75 grams of alcohol in twenty-four hours is 

 about as much as can be allowed to an adult without un- 

 toward reactions. If we assume the larger amount to be 

 permissible, it follows that alcohol may furnish as much as 

 500 calories, or about one-fifth of the day's total. The 

 requirement may be translated into terms of various bev- 

 erages: whisky, something less than \ pint; sherry or port, 

 1 pint; champagne, 1 quart; beer, 2 quarts. 



Meltzer has said that "alcohol in health is mostly a 

 curse and in sickness mostly a blessing." Its peculiar 



