TEMPERANCE COLUMN

Evening Star, Issue 20666, 13 December 1930, Page 29

TEMPERANCE COLUMN

[Fubliahtd by ArrangMterit "wifeb the United Temp.rtnc* Reform Council.] ,i From the medical and scientific point of view we have this fundamental fact before us, that the first thing alcohol does in ninety-nine cases out of 100 is ■ - to affect the mental, working of the of the man who imbibes.—Sir Thomas' Glouston, M.D. ATHLETICS TEACH ABSTINENCE. In the course of a speech in 1904, 1 Lord Charles Beresford, the great British .admiral, said: “ When I was a young man I was an athlete. J used to - bojc a good deal, ride ■ steeplechases arid races, play football,, and go through a number of competitive sports and pastimes. When 1 put myself in train-ing,-which was a continual occurrence, 1 never" drank any wine, spirits, or beer, for the simple reason that I knew I could get fit quicker without alcoholic drinks. Now I am an older man, and have a position of great often entailing quick thought and determination and instant decision, 1 drink no wine, spirits, or beer, not because of the harm they iriight do me, not because I think it wrong to drink, but simply because I am more ready for any work imposed upon me day cr night—always... fresh, always cheery, and in good temper.” DRINK IN AIRCRAFT. '<. A recent cable reported- that ope ‘Major Beaumont had been giving _ his : opinions on alcohol before-the British j Government’s Licensing Commission. • So far as physiology is concerned, his ;. statements have been out of date for ■ over sixty years. A humorous contradiction appeared in his cabled evidence: (1) Pilots occasionally required a stimulant owing to the intense cold in high . altitudes. , (2) The majority of pilots were teetotallers. His fundamental mistake 'is speaking of “spirits” as “ stimulants.” They never are. They are narcotic in their action at- all times. What a crushing commentary his second statement is; upon the‘first one! Do teetotaller pilots never go to high altitudes? If the majority of jiilofcs, who he says, are, teetotallers, get along.without alcohol, where can be the necessity for it under any circumstances? Medi-. cai science has demonstrated for over Sixty years now that alcohol always lowers the body heat. If a man takes alcohol at a high altitude because of the cold, he-will thereby still further lower his temperature. If you are a drinker, secure a thermometer and test' the matter for yourself after taking the ..drug alcohol. • , c There is no doubt that the “majority of British airmen ” are teetotallers for two specific reasons. (1) As alcohol always dulls the mental faculties, an airman (like a man driving a motor car, oply more so) cannot afford to reduce his mental powers with a brain - • poison. (2) Alcohol always definitely lowers the temperature of the body, specially in. high altitudes- or under severe climatic conditions. ■ Commander Kmgsford Smith, landing in Australia from his record-breaking trip and being offered a whisky and soda, said, “510 thanks. I Prefer to ■ travel.on water.” Follow his advice and travel on water all your life. The British dvisory. , Committee states; “Fine shades of self-control might he lost. through .small, doses, ■without any apparent outward sign or intoxication.” * ALCOHOL AND BODILY TEMPERATURE. ’ " It -is one of the most fallacious .and yet comnion beliefs that alcoholic drinks keep out the cold and increase bodily heat, and they are often .taken particularly on cold nights with this object in view. The following facts completely dispose of these false theories. Water, or alcohol cannot .build up the tissues of the,body or give it heat. Ihis is the function of nitrogenous foods, which

for the purposes of description, may lie classed as “ foods which contain fats, sugars, and starches,” the latter, after entering the body, being turned to sugars. These foods are generally referred to as carbonaceous substances.. The average amount of carbonaceous food required by a full-grown man each day is from 16oz to 18oz. This quantity may vary according to season and climate. How is this amount obtained? Wo get it from such foods as bread, 62J per cent, of which is fat, sugar, and (principally) starch. Peas contain 60 per cent., oatmeal 69 per cent., potatoes 22 per cent., rice 80 per cent., cheese about 31 per cent., eggs 11 per cent., and even milk has 9 per cent. Then, of course, we take all kinds of fats. So, in one way or another, we get the required quantity. A good meal is a fine thing to have on a cold morning. Now what about alcoholic drinks? Do they contain these good carbonaceous substances? There is certainly no fat nor starch in any one of them. But, as the alcohol has been produced from sugar there inay be a little left. It is, however, very trifling, about i per- cent., witu some dextrine (burnt sugar) colouring matter, in beers. Wines contain a little more sugar, generally, say, 31 per' cent., while spirits havt? non© at all. Alcohol, ■with Its one-half of 1 per cent, of. sugar, o-ives just 'that equivalent of heat, but it is so small a& to b© infinitesimal in any beneficial effects, and, further, .its drug properties are so ovOi whelming against the amount of sugar that any benefits become less-than negligible. . ,)cn, again, there is no-need to take alcohol, for the purpose of producing heat in the body. It does, not produce any - more than an equal amount of, say, sugai", or any other of the good food that supplies heat, and there is no difficulty in getting nil the heat necessary from our ordinary foods, without running any risks. There is one thing alcohol cannot do that lafc and sugar can. These can bo stored in the body for future use. Alcohol is never stored; no trace of it is ever found after twenty-four hours, unless fresh supplies are put in. Therefore we may conclude that although alcohol may be a heat-food, it is certainly not a necessary one. Here comes a very curious fact. Every one of us would expect that if useful at all, alcoholic drinks would certainly he taken by those who go to cold countries. But these are the drinks they are very strongly advised not to take, 'and for the simple reason that they may reduce temperature, and any reduction of the heat of the body in cold climates may easily prove fatal. Why may his occur? We must remember that alcohol has a drug action—that is, it deadens nerves. Many of onr blood vessels are governed by nerves. If these are deadened they cannot regulate the flow of blood so correctly. Therefore the tiny blood vessels on the surface of the skin may become dilated, and show' that well-known flushing that often follows alcoholic drinking. If this occurs heat may escape; and so the temperature of the body is lowered. This is the reason why sometimes people imagine that alcoholic drinks are warming them. They feel a glow of warmth ou the surface—so do we when wo blush—but the wonderful internal heat may be lowered.

Wo are all proud of the heroic men Avho risk their lives—nay, sometimes lose their lives—like the late Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shaekleton, in Arctic and - Antarctic exploration. They have to endure untold hardships amid intense cold,' Jet these are the very men who condemn the use of alcoholic drink. Eady Scott wrote; “My husband 'regarded the use of spirits in the Antarctic as very dangerous, on account of the deadly cold that sets in.” Another man, Dr 11.I 1 . Nansen, a great Norwegian explorer, honoured in every country in the world not only for his great work in the Arctic, but for his still greater work in helping people who are distressed in consequence of war, says:'“My experience leads me to take a decided stand against stimulants and narcotics of nil kinds.” Ho would not take with him. on one of his Arctic N ; 'I

journeys, a case of whisky that had been sent him as a present. Captain Amundsen, another famous Norwegian explorer, who reached the South Polo just three weeks before Captain Scott in the Arctic regions -Iso followed the example of Dr Nansen.Many Arctic explorers have not permitted alcohol to bo taken as a beverage by the members of their expeditions, partly because it causes loss of heat, which is especially dangerous in cold climates; and partly because it diminishes the muscular strength and capacity for endurance.