BEER AS FOOD.
[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."]
Sze,—I am loth to trespass further on your space, but I think you will agree that if the prohibition of a commodity which has been consumed by the bulk of the population from time immemorial is to be seriously considered, the subject must be discussed from every point of view, and without prejudice. You admit that there is food value in beer, but you say that it cannot be utilized by human beings because of the vast amount of fluid in which it is contained. But surely that argument would apply also to milk and all other foods in solution. It is, I think, impossible to generalize on this subject because individuals differ so widely in the performance of their digestive functions. That may help to explain the contradictory views held by scientists on this subject, and the contradictory results of numerous experiments. Practical experience is the only true guide, and many people undoubtedly find that alcoholic beverages are both stimulating and sustaining; while there is strong evidence in support of the view that they are a distinct and valuable aid in the digestion of other foods. Your statement that " the food value of the sugar used in beer is entirely destroyed " brings to my mind an account, given by Dr. W. E. Dixon at a meeting of the True Temperance Association in 1910, of an experiment conducted in America under the auspices of a Wesleyan University. A man was required to live in a special room, or calorimeter, for two or three weeks on a fixed diet, and everything concerning his metabolism was estimated and measured. When a little of his food—starch, sugar, or meat—was withdrawn ho immediately lost weight, but when the withdrawn food was replaced by alcohol in equivalent energy-producing amounts there was no loss of weight. Dr. Dixon affirmed that alcohol is oxidized completely in the body in such a way that it can replace ordinary starch or sugar. Furthermore, he pointed out that when sugar is oxidized in the body it passes through several stages, one of which happens to be alcohol. It appears, therefore, that the sugar used in brewing is not destroyed, but is simply converted into another substance—viz., alcohol—which can be utilized in the body to take the place of sugar.—I am, Sir, &e., Threlkeld, Hawthorn Road, Sutton, Surrey.
EDMUND G. POOLE.
[Once more it is a question of the best way to use cereals in a beleaguered city. We say : Make bread of them. Mr. Poole says : Use a large proportion of them to make intoxicants. We say : We cannot afford to do that. There is not enough even to make all the bread we want. Besides, the man who drinks beer in the beleaguered city will still want his full bread ration. Therefore. if we refuse to prohibit, the beer-drinker gets a double supply. That is palpably unjust. We cannot continue this correspondence.— ED. Spectator.]
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