ALCOHOL
Ancient and Widespread
|
 3200
B.C.E. Sumerian Recipe for Beer
|
depiction of sumerians
drinking Beer |
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|
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Hammurabi's
code addresses beer and taverns:
- 108. If a tavern-keeper (woman) does not accept corn according to
gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of
the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and
thrown into the water.
- 109. If conspirators meet in the house of a tavern-keeper, and these
conspirators are not captured and delivered to the court, the tavern-keeper
shall be put to death.
- 110. If a "sister of a god" open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink,
then shall this woman be burned to death.
- 111. If an inn-keeper furnish sixty ka of usakani-drink to (?) she
shall receive fifty ka of corn at the harvest.
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|
Drinking Cultures vs Smoking Cultures (BBC program Plants
of
Power Part 4 Alcohol Power)
Biochemistry
When yeast grow anaerobically they make
make carbon dioxide and ethanol as waste products
This has been put to good use in the making of champagne, beer and
baked beer (aka bread).
When we ingest the alcohol we reverse the last step turning it back
into acetaldehyde and then into acetic acid (vinegar)
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individuals have different levels of the enzymes alcohol and acetaldehyde
dehydrogenases which affects how they metabolize alcohol and how
they experience its effects
for example those with low levels of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase accumulate
acetaldehyde and often experience flushing and other unpleasant effects |
 |
Neurochemistry
mimics the effects of several other drugs
depending on the individual, the dose, the timing, the setting
etc.
System
|
How affected
|
Consequences
|
Similar to:
|
Everyone is different
|
| membranes |
disrupts |
intoxication, deterioration of brain function |
nitrous oxide |
| GABA receptor |
increases sensitivity to GABA |
depressant, lowers anxiety |
valium |
| glutamate receptor |
inhibits |
impaired memory |
|
| dopamine receptor |
increased release of dopamine |
pleasure, reward, addiction? |
cocaine, amphetamines |
| serotonin receptor |
increased amount of serotonin |
well being, satiety |
prozac |
| endorphin receptor |
increased release of endorphins |
joy, pain relief |
opiates |
| adenosine receptor |
increased release adenosine |
tired, sleepy, worn out |
opposite of caffeine |
Neurotransmitters.
Good for you
 From
the Harvard School of Public Health
| Participants |
Duration |
Association with moderate consumption* |
| Kaiser Permanente cohort: 123,840 men and women aged
30+ |
10 years |
40%
reduction in fatal myocardial infarction, 20% reduction in cardiovascular
mortality; 80% increase in fatal hemorrhagic stroke |
| Nurses' Health Study: 85,709 female nurses aged 34-59 |
12 years |
17%
lower risk of all-cause mortality; an earlier report showed
a 40% reduction in risk of CHD and 70% reduction
in risk of ischemic stroke |
| Physicians' Health Study: 22,071 male physicians aged
40-84 |
11 years |
30-35%
reduced risk of angina and myocardial infarction, 20-30% reduced
risk of cardiovascular death |
| American Cancer Society cohort: 489,626 men and women
aged 30-104 |
9 years |
30-40%
reduced risk of cardiovascular death |
| Eastern France cohort: 34,014 men and women |
10-15 years |
25-30%
reduced risk of cardiovascular death |
| Health Professionals Follow-up Study: 38,077 male health
professionals aged 40-75 |
12 years |
35%
reduced risk of myocardial infarction |
* compared with non-drinkers
|
Not Good for You
|
Drinking Patterns
| patterns
of use in the US
have gone through alternating cycles
of widespread use and prohibition
|
|
Forbidden or discouraged
by some cultures
From the Quran
"O believers, intoxicating drinks, gambling, pagan sacrifice
are infamous works inspired by the devil. Avoid them and you will
be closer to bliss".
Encouraged by others
From Ecclesiastes
Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately:
what life is then to a man that is without wine? For it was made
to make men glad.
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a
merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Some cultures such as France and Italy, encourage drinking with
meals is at an early age.
Others use alcohol primarily in a religious context.
Bear, wine, whiskey or distilled
spirits are each the drink of
choice in different cultures
Frats and binges
AWOL
Addiction
Other Problems
|
half
of sales are to teens and problem drinkers
associated with violent
crimes: murder, rape, assault, child and spousal abuse
double the health care costs
100,000 deaths a year
4000 birth defects a year
|
 |
"Just two cocktails consumed by a pregnant woman may be enough to
kill some of the developing brain cells in a fetus, leading to neurological
problems that can haunt a person for a lifetime" |
Treatment
kinds
- 12
step groups such as aa
- drugs such as antabuse
(structure)
and naltrexone
antabuse blocks the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme causing a
buildup of acetaldehyde, an unpleasant experience, if alcohol is
consumed
- rehab
