SPECIAL DIETETIC METHODS, ALCOHOL, COOKING 3(35 



in an experiment on man in the respiration calorimeter that the 

 addition of 72 grammes of alcohol (500 calories) to a fixed diet exerted 

 a greater sparing effect on the protein of the diet than did 130 grammes 

 of sugar (515 calories). It is probable that alcohol in such small 

 non-toxic amounts acts as a carbohydrate-sparer. It is possible, also, 

 that a small amount of alcohol facilitates digestion. While there is no 

 basis of fact for the assertion that dire effects are produced by the 

 taking of a small amount of alcohol into the human system, there is 

 great economic waste of food in their preparation. Energy is dissi- 

 pated by the process of fermentation. There is in a gallon of beer 

 only one-tenth of the energy of the barley used in its preparation, 

 and, even allowing for the food value of the waste products used 

 *|pr feeding cattle, there is still a considerable loss of valuable 

 ^energy. 



By virtue of its quick absorption from the stomach, and the ease 

 by which it is combusted, alcohol is of great service in medicinal doses 

 in treatment of cardiac failure. The feeling of warmth promoted by 

 alcohol is due to an increased blood-flow in the cutaneous vessels, so 

 that alcohol, instead of keeping out the cold, may tend to make the 

 body lose more heat. " Wine is a mocker," and he who is exalted by 

 it is a lenient critic ; hence its reputation for promoting sociability. It 

 removes the consciousness of fatigue and the feeling of care, and makes 

 facile the play of thought and speech by weakening the higher function 

 of brain-inhibition. The subjective impression of mental capacity, 

 exalted under the influence of alcohol, is unconfirmed by test. Small 

 doses have no effect, larger ones diminish the fineness of control and 

 skill in handiwork. A man under the influence of alcohol will make 

 more mistakes in typs-writing and in casting columns of figures. 

 Habitual indulgence in alcohol, by banishing the pressing sense of 

 duty, makes a man indifferent to the obligations of family and 

 national life. It is the monotonous, confined existence in modern 

 cities which impels him to such indulgence. He who lives a hygienic 

 life, oxygenates his tissues by outdoor exercise, and thus keeps a 

 cheerful, active mind, will need not the " wine which maketh glad 

 the heart of man," but the " bread which strengtheneth man's 

 heart." 



TABLE SHOWING PERCENTAGE OF ALCOHOL IN THE COMMONER SPIRITS,, 

 WINES, AND BEERS (PRE-WAR TIMES). 



Spirits. 



Rum . . 

 Brandy 

 Whisky 

 Gin 



Beers. 



English ale 

 Stout . . 

 English lager 

 German lager 



Alcohol 

 per Cent. 



5-7 



. 4-7 

 . 4-5 



3-4 



Tea and coffee owe then' popularity partly to the alkaloid caffeine 

 a methyl-purin partly to the aromatic principles contained in 

 them. In small do-.es caffeine is stimulating; in large doses it is 



