LECTURE BY DR WEBER ON THE VALUE AND THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 363, 12 April 1871, Page 3

LECTURE BY DR WEBER ON THE VALUE AND THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL.

AS USED IN EVERY- PAY LIFE. (Prepared for delivery at the monthly meeting of the Tokomairiro Total, Abstinence Society.) i Alcohol is the characteristic product of tbat spirit of fermentation called the vinous, and constitutes the intoxicating principle of all vinous and spirituous liquors, be their name wine, ale, brandy, or whatever else ; but as it was first procured from wine, it has retained the name of " snirit of wine." I will not enter here into the different modes of preparation, nor into the chemistry of the article, but only state, that pure or absolute alcohol is composed of— carbon, 4 equivalents, hydrogen, G, and oxygen, 2 equivalents (c, 4, h., 6, 0., 2.) Liquors containing alcohol were known to nations of very remote antiquity ; however, they contained but a small quantity of it, much diluted. The art of manufacturing wine, beer, and spirits, as we have them now, is of comparatively more recent origin. And here let me remark, that, the great majority of the deleterious poisonous alcoholic drinks consumed at present have as much claim to be called " gifts of God " as bave bombshells and explosive bullets. God created grasses, barley, rye, to serve for man's food. in their natural condition ; but it is, to say the least, doubtful whether the produce of of their fermentation was ever destined for ordinary and general use. Fermentation is only another name for putrifaction, and from substances in that state men generally turn away in disgust. Alcohol in its concentrated form was first prepared in the eleventh century. The physicians of that time, who delighted in euphonious hyperbolic appellations, called it, ** aqua vitae "—the water of life. 1 here is evidence to show that they valued it very highly, prescribing it only in small doses, with much watchfulness and care, principally in diseases connected with great prostration of strength No doubt in some cases it may have done a great deal of good, as much by its own intrinsic value, as because it was a new medicament, highly recommended, and endowed with supposed wonderful virtues. Let us enquire now into the different reasons people bring forward for taking alcoholic drinks, and let it be well understood, I am speaking only of such persons who indulge not habitually to excess. Some say they take wine, beer, or even spirits to support themselves under the fatigue of bodily labor or mental exertion ; they i'uerofore suppose alcoholic?{hqnors to he a valuable article of diet. Others fly first to the bottle for every real or imaginary illness that befalls them. Alcohol is their sovereign remedy, and considering the number of people who believe in them, and the variety of ailments which "they arc said to benefit^ whisky, brandy,, and gin may be called the most popular medicine of the dav, even surpassing and putting in shade the far-famed Holloway's pills. A third and small party again look on Alcoholics only as an article of luxury to be indulged in on festive occasions to enhance the pleasures of social intercourse. We will therefore have to consider the value of alcohol from three points— (l) as food ; (2) a? nn article of luxury ; and (3) ns a medicine, to which we will add a few words on the effects of alcohol as poison. T. The Value and effects of Alcoholic Liquors as articles of diet. — What is food ? Food is such solid and fluid substance? which as taken in the stomach to be converted into material for supplying the daily wear and tear of the body, and keeping np the necessary temperature. According to this double purpose all articles of diet are divided in two large classes, viz.—fleshmaking, the principal constituent of which is nitrogen and of which butcher-meat is a good sample, and heat-producing substances, the principal constituent of which is carbon ; to their class belong oil, fat, and sugar. All food must be largely mixed with water to keep it in solution. To understand perfectly what we have farther to say about alcohol, it is necessary to state in a few words, what changes food undergoes after it en'ers the month. After being mixed there with the saliva it enters the'stomacb, when it comes under the action of the gastric juice; part of it is here already absorbed, and enters the circulation directly, the greater part however, is converted into a pulp, called *• chyme," which passes on to the small intestines, when, after undergoing further transformations and purifications by being mixed with the secretions of the pancreas and liver, it becomes absorbed by the lymphatics, and is carried by them into the recurrent stream of tbe blood just before it enters the right heart. From tbe right heart the blood is propelled to the lungs, where another and roost _ important factor is introduced by the aid of breathing, ! namely, the oxygen of the air. And here 'let, me" remark, that although we are at liberty to deprive our lungs of the needful quantity of oxygen by breathing bad air or taking insufficient exercise, the blood cannot, on the other hand, absorb any, amount of oxygen we woujjd desire, Jont only a given quantity in a given timp. We will do well to remember this Now, the oxygen performs a fourfold function in the blood. First, it combines very readily j with the heat-prpdiicing agents, burning j the greater part of them to carbonic acid and water, and thereby supplying 'the body with heat; this is ft most important function ; secondly, another part combines rather slower with the flesh-producing, that is the nitrogenous components of the blood, preparing them for their ultimate conversion into living tissue'; thirdly, some portion of oxygen nccqmpanies the blood into the finest capillaries, and there as- ; sists, partly in building up out of the fluid contents, the solid tissues, such as bones,

muscles, nerves, etc., partly in breaking' ! down the used-up tissues to be carrier! off as waste material; lastly, this wnste material undergoes further changes again by ; the action of the oxygen previous to being ! expelled the system by tho lungs, tho skin, the. liver, and the kidneys. All these functions of the oxygen are going on under the production of the heat by which the temperature of the body is maintained. Now, the ordinary mixed food, as meat, bread, butter, milk and vegetables, contains all the ingredients we need, both for producing heat; and repairing the waste of; the body. What., then, does alcohol do if we add it ? Alcohol, it is true, stimulates, the stomach, as well as all other organs with which it comes in contact, and may i therefore be very valuable under peculiar circumstances, to be considered when we i speak of its use as medicine. The stomach so stimulated in the first instance secretes an increased quantity of gastric juice, and we feel our appetite sharpened; the digestive powers, however, of the gastric juice are diminished, for experiments have shown that alcohol, when added to the digestive fluid, produces a white precipitate, so that this fluid is no longer capable j ot digesting animal or vegetable matter. Drs. Todd and Bowman say "the use of! alcoholic stimulants retards digestion by coagulating the pepsin, and thereby interfering with its action. If alcoholics were not rapidly absorbed, their introduction into the stomach in any quantity would; be a complete bar to tbe digestion of the food, as the pepsin would be precipitated from the solution as quickly as it was formed." Thus, alcohol, although seem- i in"* to give an increased desire for food at first, in reality impairs, and ultimately destroys the digestion. The constant consumer of alcoholic liquors, moreover, gets his stomach so accustomed to this stimulant that at last he feels no desire for food at all, unless he takes first his dram, be that of wine, beer or spirits, (although it will soon come to be the last mentioned exclusively) ; but when he has taken, with the help of the stimulant, his meal, he cannot digest, it. He feels swelled; about the stomach, complains of pains in the epigastric region, followed by bad taste in the mouth, nausea, reaching, flatulence, and general languidness. Poor man ! he. would hove been better without food at all, so he soon finds himself, and to support himself, as he says, taking so little food, he has to take more and more liquor. So much for the supposed digestive powers of alcohol. But if alcohol does not improve the digestion, what then is otherwise its value as an article of diet ? All food, as already stated, is divided into two great classes, in tissue repairing and heat-producing substances, the distinctive difference between which is that the former contain nitrogen, the latter none. Alcohol containing no nitrogen does not belong to the flesh-making substances, and is therefore of no direct value at all for producing any of the substantial tissues of the body indirectly; oh the contrary, it has constantly and habitually used great power in preventing as well the formation of new tissue as in prematurely hastening on the breaking down of it : this we shall see shortly. Alcohol, however, has great power as a heat-producing power ; it very readily combines with oxygen— only "too readily, and in that lies the' danger. On reaching the stomach it is rapidly and unchanged—unchanged I say, and this is very material — absorbed by the veins ramifying 'in the nnicous membrane of that organ, and passing through the liver, inferior vena cava and right heart enters the longs, where it comes in contact with the oxygen of the air, and part of it undergoes combustion in carbonic acid and water, by which act the temperature of the blood is raised, but no waste-repairing material produced. This would be very well if the quantity of oxygen the blood can absorb was unlimited ; however, as we have stated, such is not the case. What is the consequence f The highly combustible alcohol takes the lion's share, and leaves but an insufficient quantity of oxygen for all the other work to be performed by it, namely, the burning off of the waste material, the oxidation of the heat-friving substances introduced by the ordinary food, and the lurther metamorphosis of the other ingredients of the blood into healthy living tissue. But another direct effect of the alcohol has yet to be considered. We havefsaid that it stimulates the stomach, so it does every other organ with which it comes into contact, and that part of the alcohol which is not burned in the lungs is distributed, though in unequal proportion, to every part of the system, principally to the brain, the kidneys, and the skin, which organs are stimulated by it. Stimulating an organ m<*ans urging it to an increase of its function, to more work. More work, however, causes more decay of its tissue, so we see that alcohol causes more decay of substances without providing any material for repair in return. Let us sum up then the action of ! alcohol when brought into the system :— j I (lst,>— I prevents proper digestion by | pricipitating part of the gastric juice. ! (2nd.)— Tt interferes with the thorough 1 oxydation ot the flesh-making as well as tho heat-producing substances introduced' into the blood by ordinary food, therefore favors their undue accumulation in the;! I system. . ,;' I (3rd.) — tt causes accumulation of the waste material in the blood by appropriat-; ing part of the oxygen necessary to burn it off to its own use, and by unduly stimulat-; ing the functions of organs thereby causes, a greater decay of tissue. Such are undoubtedly the chemical and physiological effects of alcohol. Ido not, of course, mean to affirm that the occasional ; remperate use of alcoholic liquors must lead immediately and unavoidably tb fear- ; ful results. Tt would stand ill with lis, if every daily mistake We make in our mode of life was" visited by corresponding pun- : ishment $ happily . the vis medieatrisi! nd-

tura prevents this. The deleterious and noxious tendency, however, remains, and is indisputable, as proved by experiments and confirmed by experience, and that should put the wise man on his guard. When, however, the use of intoxicating liquors become constant and habitual, the injurious consequences are apparent enough differing only in degree according to constitution, age, and other outward circumstances. Without going into professional matters, it will be worth while to look a little closer at them. The accumulation of waste matter in the blood interferes with the proper nutrition of the different organs and therefore weakens the system. All weakness predisposes to disease. People accustomed to intoxicating liquors are therefore more liable to disease, and not only that, they have less power ot resistance when attacked by it. A bronchitis or fever for instance, which a temperate man might easily get over, is for the man addicted to drink a serious matter; without proper care lie may sink rapidly under it. Medical men know this well, and alter their treatment, accordingly.' Accidents and injuries are also much worse borne by the habitual drinker, his weakened nervous system may seccumb under the shock, ov his contaminated blood may produce unhealthy inflammation. Further, we have mentioned before that alcohol stimulates to increased activity all the organs with which it comes in contact; this action of the alcohol may be made valuable use of under certain circumstances to be mentioned, when we speak of it as ft medicine. It is, however, apparent to every observer that an organ must soon break down if its function is exalted constantly above its ordinary power. The stomach, of course, primarily affected, congestion and chronic inflammation takes place, and instead of the!' digestion being promoted as is the com- | mon belief, it is retarded and at last en-. | tirely destroyed. Next to the stomach. I the liver suffers; the alcohol being absorbed by the veins of the stomach is carried ' through the postal vein to the liver di rectly where it causes at first merely congestion and functional disorder but, after a time a structural change takes place, which, if not checked in time, leads to that degeneration of the organ, known as the " drunkard's liver," and from which there is no recovery. From the liver the alcohol is carried by tho blood to the heart, stimulating its function but by constant and indiscriminate use, causing weak and irregular action, the results of wbieh are manifold congestions and stagnations of blood. Similarly the other organs are affected/ the lungs, the kidneys, and the skin, and it would lead too far to particnlarise fch^m here. The tendency is always the same. At first their function is exalted, but the' ultimate result is weakness, irregularity, disease and degeneration. There is one effect of the 'continued use of intoxicating 1-quors deserves mention yet, because it leads to misconceptions. Some people will become lean, haggard and half-starved looking by constant drinking ; their career is probably not far from closing. The majority, however, get Tat on; it, a (ew to ah uncomfortable degree. A : superficial observer may say, if alcoholic liquors increase the bulk of the body, they must be substantial nourishment. This is, however, a miserable fallacy. The accumulation of fat is due to the waste matter retained in the blood (explained before), which is partly converted into fat and deposited promiscuously about the body. Whenever this fat is soft, thin and'ill-colored, it accumulates rapidly and may as rapidly disappear, leaving a gaunt skeleton covered with wrinkled yellowish skin. Further, this fat may not only be deposited under the skin, and around internal organs so oppressing them and interfering with their action, but it may take the place of healthy tissues themselves, causing what is called *' fatly degeneration " of the heart, the arteries the liver. However I will not weary you any further with the enumeration of "the effects of long-con inued use of alcoholics; you all have before your mind's eve the picture of an ardent dero'ee of Bacchus — of Bacchus, T say certainly not ! for what has yon sad, dispirited, beleagnred. i pimple-nosed figure to do with the jolly, I rubicund god of the ancient Greeks and Romans. As little as the burning poisonous j liquors of tbe present day can be compared ! with the light fruity wines of those ancient ' clays. Don't think my friends that J have pictured matters worse than they are in reality ; far from it, I have said nothing yet about the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system, of the actual brain diseases it causes, and the ravages it.; makes in men's intellectual and moral faculties. I have deferred this unti^ we speak of it as a poison.

{To be continued)