Digestion in the Stomach. 171 



aid digestion. Let us look at the results of some careful 

 experiments on this point. Drs. Chittenden and Mendel 

 of Yale University have carried out a series of experi- 

 ments in which the digestive liquids were allowed to 

 act upon various food substances of the proteid class. 

 It was found that when so small a quantity as two per 

 cent of alcohol was present the digestive activity was 

 always diminished, and it was uniformly decreased in 

 direct ratio to the quantity of alcohol used. The experi- 

 ments with brandy, gin, and rum all showed decreased 

 digestive action. Three per cent claret showed decreased 

 activity in every case. Lager beer, in so small a quantity 

 as three teaspoonfuls at a meal, was found to retard di- 

 gestion to a very marked degree. One tablespoonful of 

 whisky reduced digestive activity more than seventy-five 

 per cent. This was the result in experiments carried on 

 outside of the living body, and in which only the chemical 

 side of digestion was studied. In the living body the irri- 

 tating effects of alcohol upon the stomach, together with 

 its effect upon the nerves, cause the glands to send out so 

 much more gastric juice that the delay is not so great. 

 But yet, these experimenters found that in the stomach 

 digestion with alcohol took from fifteen to twenty minutes 

 longer than digestion when no alcohol was given. Thus 

 when put to the test alcohol does not appear to act as an 

 aid to digestion. 



Alcohol and Dyspepsia. Instead of aiding digestion, 

 the use of alcohol tends to produce dyspepsia. "The 

 effect of alcohol is to produce a state of excitement and 

 irritation in the stomach, the result of which, when fre- 

 quently repeated, is permanent congestion and numerous 

 forms of dyspepsia." J. H. Kellogg, M.D. 



