The uses and the effects of alcohol will not be discussed at length in this lesson because the subject of alcohol is constantly before the public, and its evil effects universally known and acknowledged. However, I deem it well to examine a phase of the question which is not so well understood.
Alcohol a poison not a food
Whether or not alcohol is a food has recently been discussed by a wide range of writers. The answer of science is that alcohol is a food in the sense that it can produce heat in the body. Even if alcohol were a true food, the heat is produced, however, by the increased circulation of the blood, which is Nature's warfare against a poison, and in the reaction the vitality of the body is lowered. Thus the true effect of the poison is made manifest. Starvation is not the danger that threatens mankind, but OVERFEEDING and WRONG feeding. Were we in danger of starvation, whisky at one dollar a quart would not save us. The very fact that alcohol produces heat in the body, whether we call it a food or not, only adds another reason why it should not be used. It produces heat by stimulating heart action; rapid heart action is Nature's defense against the intruding poison.
Alcohol taken in addition to food, and in connection with it, produces surplus heat, and overstimulates metabolism, which is very harmful. It also adds one more to the long list of detrimental effects traceable to intoxicating beverages. Alcohol is a food in the same sense that dynamite is a fuel. Dynamite produces heat, but it would be an unwise fireman who would use it under his boiler.
Correct eating the best treatment for the drink-habit
Another point regarding the use of alcohol that is worthy of consideration, is the fact that improper nutrition, together with the over-ingestion of stimulating and heating foods such as meat and condiments, invariably increase the appetite for intoxicants. The appetite for alcohol seldom, if ever, develops in a perfectly nourished body, and the best treatment known for the drink-habit is a careful course of balanced dieting and hygienic methods of living. Alcohol is purely a stimulant. It increases the heart action, the circulation, the production of heat, and the general vital activities. It is an offense to Nature, and the body calls into activity all her powers to cast out the poison. When the influence of alcohol has run its course, there is a reaction or stupor which calls for more of the same drug. This indulgence cultivates the desire through both the body-functions and the appetite, and the blighting habit dethrones the reason, thus rendering useless the lives of millions of worthy people.
Why alcohol is used in patent medicines
The prescribing of alcohol by physicians has chiefly descended from the ancient idea that alcohol was strengthening and beneficial to the body. The practise is being discontinued by many reputable physicians, which proves that no great benefits, in dis-ease, can be derived from its use. The regular use of alcohol in small doses gives the patient the feeling of physical exhilaration, and is therefore an excellent means of making him believe that he is being benefited. For this reason, and because of its cheapness, low grade alcohol is the chief component of many medicines.
The following table gives the percentage of alcohol contained in a few patent medicines, previous to the popular exposé of the subject. (I do not vouch for the accuracy of this table at the present time, as the manufacturers under the pressure of public opinion may have changed their formulas):
| Peruna | 28% |
| Hostetter's Bitters | 44% |
| Lydia Pinkham's Compound | 20% |
| Hood's Sarsaparilla | 18% |
| Ayer's Sarsaparilla | 26% |
| Paine's Celery Compound | 21% |