DANGERS FROM ALCOHOL 351 



ate quantities, they produce a temporary increase in the vital 

 activities of the person taking them. This stimulation is due to the 

 presence of a drug called caffein which acts upon the nervous sys- 

 tem as a whip acts on a tired horse. In moderation, tea and coffee 

 appear to be harmless to most adults. Some people, however, can- 

 not use either, even in small quantities, without ill effects. It is 

 the habit of relying upon the stimulation given by tea or coffee 

 that makes them a danger to man. Cocoa and chocolate, although 

 both contain a stimulant, are in addition good foods, having from 12 

 per cent to 21 per cent of protein, from 29 per cent to 48 per cent 

 of fat, and over 30 per cent of carbohydrate in their composition. 



Demonstration 3. To show the effect of alcohol on white of egg. 



To some fresh white of egg in a test tube add, drop by drop, 50 

 per cent alcohol (about the proportion in whiskey). What happens? 

 Remember white of egg is like protoplasm in its chemical makeup. 

 The teacher should explain that this does not happen to the body cells. 

 Demonstration 4. To show the effect of alcohol on Paramecia. To 

 a grooved slide containing culture of Paramecia add drop by drop some 

 50 per cent alcohol. What happens at first? What happens later? 

 How do you account for this? 



Is alcohol a food? The question of the use of alcohol is still 

 of much interest among physiologists and doctors. Experiments 

 by Professor Atwater in this country and by Durig and Millanby 

 in England confirm the fact that small quantities of alcohol are 

 oxidized in the body and therefore may be used in place of 

 either fat or carbohydrate foods. Raymond Pearl has pointed 

 out that mortality from alcohol is usually amongst the hard 

 drinkers and that there is very little difference in the death rate 

 between the abstainers and the moderate drinkers. But, un- 

 fortunately, there are plenty of people who do not know how to 

 control their appetites. 



Alcohol a poison. On the other hand, we know that although 

 alcohol may technically be considered as a food, it has a harmful 

 effect on the body tissues which foods do not have. According 

 to Professor Chittenden, one of the great dietary experts of this 

 country, alcohol, 1 although it is oxidized in the body, has a harmful 



\ Alcohol is made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It is very easily oxidized, 

 but it cannot, as is shown by the chemical formula, be of use to the body in tissue 

 bxiilding, because of its lack of nitrogen. 



