NATURE OF FERMENTED DRINKS 97 



appetite. All natural appetites have natural limits. But 

 the appetite for alcohol, created by the diseased conditions 

 which it has itself produced, has no limit to its baneful 

 effects upon the health. 



From the first glass of beer or wine sipped by the boy 

 who is just beginning to drink to the dram of the drunkard 

 whose tissues are poisoned by it, the nature of alcohol is 

 to excite a thirst for more. Whether it is used in the form 

 of wine, beer, cider, rum, or whisky, its character is the 

 same ; for the character of any substance depends upon 

 its quality, not its quantity. 



The secret of the drunkard's craving for alcohol is in 

 the nature of the drink rather than in the weakness of the 

 drinker. 



142. The Oxidation of Small Quantities of Alcohol in the 

 Body. When alcoholic beverages are used in small or 

 moderate quantities, the greater part of their alcohol is 

 burnt up or oxidized within the body. The alcohol thus 

 disposed of gives out a certain amount of energy, as truly 

 as the oxidation of ordinary food materials in the body 

 yields energy. 



We must remember, however, that the result to the body 

 is quite different from that of the oxidation of food. When 

 foods like sugar or starch are used as sources of energy 

 there is no injurious effect upon the nervous system ; but 

 the use of enough alcohol to supply an appreciable amount 

 of energy impairs the higher functions of the brain, such 

 as the ability to reason accurately or to exercise complete 

 self-control. 



143. Alcohol not a Food. Definitions of the word 

 "food" are not always expressed in the same terms, but 

 the following essential points should be included in a 



