BIOLOGY APPLIED TO HEALTHFUL LIVING 547 



cannot yet be demonstrated, because the possible accumula- 

 tive effects of small doses of alcohol are still unknown to science. 



472. Nutritive Value of Alcohol. " Is alcohol a food ? " 

 The answer depends upon what we understand by food. 

 It is not food in the sense that bread and meat are foods, for 

 it cannot support life. It lacks the nitrogen and necessary 

 mineral elements for growth and repair. But it may, in 

 small quantities, take the place of foods used for fuel or 

 energy, for some is oxidized in the human body. 



However, it is of little moment that alcohol has a slight 

 food value, for against it there are great objections as fol- 

 lows : (1) Only srnall amounts can be used as food, and it is 

 easy to overestimate the amount which is safe. (2) There 

 is a peculiar tendency to excessive and habitual use. (3) Its 

 action as a harmful drug may overbalance its value as food. 

 (4) It is a very expensive food as compared with carbohy- 

 drates and fats, which can supply equivalent energy. 



Such grave objections to alcohol in any form make it 

 necessary to regard its food value as of little importance. 

 One of the best of advanced books on physiology well sum- 

 marizes the whole matter as follows : " Only in very excep- 

 tional cases can alcohol have any practical importance as a 

 nutriment. It is especially in the case of acute diseases 

 accompanied by diminished digestive power that alcohol 

 seems to serve as a valuable nutriment." 



After all, no one regularly uses alcohol as food, but rather 

 for its peculiar taste and stimulating effect. The use or 

 disuse of alcohol must depend upon the answer to the ques- 

 tion, "Is the stimulating effect of alcohol injurious?" 

 Except in small quantities it certainly is an injurious stimulant; 

 and no one can safely estimate the quantity which may not lead 

 to accumulated effects, or to habits of excess. 



473. Disease Effects of Alcohol. Many organs are 

 known to become diseased as the result of long-continued 

 excessive use of alcoholic drinks. Liver, kidneys, heart, 



