Excerpt from Pages 104-106 of Nutrition and Your Mind
by George Watson, PhD, (1972)
If I were to ask you to name all the types of fuel the body can utilize, although the reply appears obviously simple, you would probably answer incorrectly. For while carbohydrate, fat and protein do indeed represent all types of food we customarily think of, yet biochemically - and socially - something very important must be added: ethyl alcohol.
Although in many ways alcohol does not act as we expect food to act, since it may produce profound pathological reactions, yet from a biochemical point of view the utilization of alcohol can be looked at in the very same way that we have examined the breakdown of sugar and fat in cells of the tissues. And while we lack a full understanding of the effects of alcohol on the system, we do know that there are two related nutritional phases to its metabolism.
First, alcohol increases the blood-sugar level by causing the liver to give up part of its stored sugar (glycogen); hence alcohol stimulates carbohydrate metabolism. Second, alcohol itself is directly broken down - principally in the liver - to produce energy-rich intermediate acetate (acetyl coenzyme A), which in either oxidized in the citric acid cycle to produce ATP (energy) or converted to other substances such as body fat and cholesterol.
Alcohol is a rich source of acetate, ounce for ounce producing more than sugar or protein, but not quite as much as fat. In addition, however - and this point has an important bearing on its use and abuse - alcohol may be thought of as almost “instant acetate.”
Let us suppose that you’re physically and mentally exhausted - cold, tired, dispirited. Biochemically your cellular acetate is minimal, your blood sugar is low, and you’ve just about run out of ready nutritional reserves. Then someone puts a stiff drink of two ounces of 100-proof whiskey in your hand. As you sip it slowly for a few minutes, life, strength, and hope seem to push out the ache, cold, and despair.
If alcohol is new to you, in this moment you have had an almost unforgettable learning experience. You’ve been rewarded at a time and in a way that will be long remembered - consciously or unconsciously. And the next time your energy reserves are gone, and you’re mentally and physically spent, you’ll probably think “whiskey!” You will also have gained a personal insight into the experience behind the word, which comes from the Gaelic usquebaugh, meaning “water of life.”
Water of life it would indeed be if the whole story of alcohol were to end with its nutritional biochemistry, and it was simply another easily utilizable and wholesome source of energy. But it is not. Every drop of alcohol burned in the tissues creates a nutritional demand for carbohydrates and for the many biochemicals that it does not by itself supply, the vitamins and minerals necessary to process it. Consequently, continued, constant, or frequent use of alcohol can lead to depletion of cellular nutritional reserves needed for normal metabolism.
The paradox of alcohol is that while producing acetate and stimulating the breakdown of glucose, which in special circumstances results in apparent immediate physical and mental relief from stress, at the very same time this substance is a dangerous drug, both physically and psychologically.
One might think that since alcohol is metabolized in the normal nutritional pathways of the citric acid cycle, alcoholism is a nutritional disease, one that can be successfully treated by good nutrition. And indeed we have witnessed some dramatic successes using this approach. When psychological dependency has resulted from using alcohol as a substitute for food, then optimum nutrition can help erase the conditions of mental and physical fatigue which provide a stimulus to “think whiskey.”
For literally speaking, if you think you “need a drink” you don’t need a drink; you need ATP (energy) derived from acetate, through the breakdown of blood sugar, fat, and protein. If one is really well nourished, his energy reserves are as high as they can be. This is why truly healthy individuals cannot tolerate alcohol: Their cellular acetate breakdown is near maximum, and any rapid increase such as will result from a drink of whiskey may lead to headache, sweating, nausea, and possibly vomiting. In short, one’s tolerance to alcohol reflects one’s nutritional biochemical health. The more one can drink without adverse effect the worse off he is. It is just plain utter biochemical nonsense for people to pride themselves on being able to hold their liquor, for only those in very bad shape can do so.
This definitely seems like a marketing post, which kinda rubs me the wrong way, but I tried doing some shopping on the Pique site anyway, since I trust Focal Points. Sadly, no 20% discount appeared in my shopping cart, so I left everything in the cart and exited the site. :(
If you monitor your sleep, you know alcohol is a big negative. The study that said two drinks per day is healthy was based on a placebo group who were former alcoholics. The Science! Fauci still free.
WARNING!! I personally experience serious problems when ingesting or using adaptogens topically - including, but not limited to, a drastic drop in blood pressure, fainting, fluctuations in heart rhythm and the overall feeling of being out of it. It started with Siberian ginseng when I was 28. I’m now as old as a box of rocks. Co-Q 10 is another one. Turmeric makes my retina bleed and I’m not on blood thinners. Just be careful when self-helping. But also be more careful going to the doctor when having symptoms of an unknown origin such as these - doctors don’t know jack and you’ll walk out with a pacemaker. Pacemakers are their go-to.
Such 'elixirs' have their own pitfalls. Such things are unregulated, and the source products (like ashwaganda) potentially laced with lead. All in all, the ingredients are fine in small quantities, but if you drink one after another... those substances can become toxic in high doses. Club soda and lime -- or a cup of coffee -- are much safer.
Thank you as an 82 year old who rarely drinks alcohol. My wife of 60 years and I will have to try a midfullness approach to what glass we hold at social events.
EXCELLENT information especially as a Mom of a Teen that I have been and will continue to try educate regarding the DANGERS of possible alcohol/drug/smoking addictions and HEALTHY alternatives!
I'm afraid you missed the point of alcohol usage in social occasions. It is to decrease inhibitions, which these non-alcoholic drinks will never accomplish. As we have always known, there is truth in wine.
Why do men buy drinks for women? So you think it is to raise the intellectual level of conversation?. For the most part it is to find out what she really thinks, and to increase the chances of physical contact. This is true in business, marriage relationships, or almost all social encounters. I will not go far as to say alcohol is a truth serum, but there is no doubt it increases the conversation, and widens the topics.
I was hoping for a basic explanation of exactly what an adaptogenic elixir is.
Why, it says right there that they're made from "adaptogens", silly!
(They're what plants crave;)
Excerpt from Pages 104-106 of Nutrition and Your Mind
by George Watson, PhD, (1972)
If I were to ask you to name all the types of fuel the body can utilize, although the reply appears obviously simple, you would probably answer incorrectly. For while carbohydrate, fat and protein do indeed represent all types of food we customarily think of, yet biochemically - and socially - something very important must be added: ethyl alcohol.
Although in many ways alcohol does not act as we expect food to act, since it may produce profound pathological reactions, yet from a biochemical point of view the utilization of alcohol can be looked at in the very same way that we have examined the breakdown of sugar and fat in cells of the tissues. And while we lack a full understanding of the effects of alcohol on the system, we do know that there are two related nutritional phases to its metabolism.
First, alcohol increases the blood-sugar level by causing the liver to give up part of its stored sugar (glycogen); hence alcohol stimulates carbohydrate metabolism. Second, alcohol itself is directly broken down - principally in the liver - to produce energy-rich intermediate acetate (acetyl coenzyme A), which in either oxidized in the citric acid cycle to produce ATP (energy) or converted to other substances such as body fat and cholesterol.
Alcohol is a rich source of acetate, ounce for ounce producing more than sugar or protein, but not quite as much as fat. In addition, however - and this point has an important bearing on its use and abuse - alcohol may be thought of as almost “instant acetate.”
Let us suppose that you’re physically and mentally exhausted - cold, tired, dispirited. Biochemically your cellular acetate is minimal, your blood sugar is low, and you’ve just about run out of ready nutritional reserves. Then someone puts a stiff drink of two ounces of 100-proof whiskey in your hand. As you sip it slowly for a few minutes, life, strength, and hope seem to push out the ache, cold, and despair.
If alcohol is new to you, in this moment you have had an almost unforgettable learning experience. You’ve been rewarded at a time and in a way that will be long remembered - consciously or unconsciously. And the next time your energy reserves are gone, and you’re mentally and physically spent, you’ll probably think “whiskey!” You will also have gained a personal insight into the experience behind the word, which comes from the Gaelic usquebaugh, meaning “water of life.”
Water of life it would indeed be if the whole story of alcohol were to end with its nutritional biochemistry, and it was simply another easily utilizable and wholesome source of energy. But it is not. Every drop of alcohol burned in the tissues creates a nutritional demand for carbohydrates and for the many biochemicals that it does not by itself supply, the vitamins and minerals necessary to process it. Consequently, continued, constant, or frequent use of alcohol can lead to depletion of cellular nutritional reserves needed for normal metabolism.
The paradox of alcohol is that while producing acetate and stimulating the breakdown of glucose, which in special circumstances results in apparent immediate physical and mental relief from stress, at the very same time this substance is a dangerous drug, both physically and psychologically.
One might think that since alcohol is metabolized in the normal nutritional pathways of the citric acid cycle, alcoholism is a nutritional disease, one that can be successfully treated by good nutrition. And indeed we have witnessed some dramatic successes using this approach. When psychological dependency has resulted from using alcohol as a substitute for food, then optimum nutrition can help erase the conditions of mental and physical fatigue which provide a stimulus to “think whiskey.”
For literally speaking, if you think you “need a drink” you don’t need a drink; you need ATP (energy) derived from acetate, through the breakdown of blood sugar, fat, and protein. If one is really well nourished, his energy reserves are as high as they can be. This is why truly healthy individuals cannot tolerate alcohol: Their cellular acetate breakdown is near maximum, and any rapid increase such as will result from a drink of whiskey may lead to headache, sweating, nausea, and possibly vomiting. In short, one’s tolerance to alcohol reflects one’s nutritional biochemical health. The more one can drink without adverse effect the worse off he is. It is just plain utter biochemical nonsense for people to pride themselves on being able to hold their liquor, for only those in very bad shape can do so.
Fascinating analysis!
This definitely seems like a marketing post, which kinda rubs me the wrong way, but I tried doing some shopping on the Pique site anyway, since I trust Focal Points. Sadly, no 20% discount appeared in my shopping cart, so I left everything in the cart and exited the site. :(
If you monitor your sleep, you know alcohol is a big negative. The study that said two drinks per day is healthy was based on a placebo group who were former alcoholics. The Science! Fauci still free.
WARNING!! I personally experience serious problems when ingesting or using adaptogens topically - including, but not limited to, a drastic drop in blood pressure, fainting, fluctuations in heart rhythm and the overall feeling of being out of it. It started with Siberian ginseng when I was 28. I’m now as old as a box of rocks. Co-Q 10 is another one. Turmeric makes my retina bleed and I’m not on blood thinners. Just be careful when self-helping. But also be more careful going to the doctor when having symptoms of an unknown origin such as these - doctors don’t know jack and you’ll walk out with a pacemaker. Pacemakers are their go-to.
Such 'elixirs' have their own pitfalls. Such things are unregulated, and the source products (like ashwaganda) potentially laced with lead. All in all, the ingredients are fine in small quantities, but if you drink one after another... those substances can become toxic in high doses. Club soda and lime -- or a cup of coffee -- are much safer.
This indeed is an encouraging trend. Offsetting it to some extent is the tendency of Gen Z to be addicted to social media and cell phone life.
Will be needing the adaptogens to deal with all the electromagnetic radiation
Thank you as an 82 year old who rarely drinks alcohol. My wife of 60 years and I will have to try a midfullness approach to what glass we hold at social events.
EXCELLENT information especially as a Mom of a Teen that I have been and will continue to try educate regarding the DANGERS of possible alcohol/drug/smoking addictions and HEALTHY alternatives!
I'm afraid you missed the point of alcohol usage in social occasions. It is to decrease inhibitions, which these non-alcoholic drinks will never accomplish. As we have always known, there is truth in wine.
Why do men buy drinks for women? So you think it is to raise the intellectual level of conversation?. For the most part it is to find out what she really thinks, and to increase the chances of physical contact. This is true in business, marriage relationships, or almost all social encounters. I will not go far as to say alcohol is a truth serum, but there is no doubt it increases the conversation, and widens the topics.
This is not going to change.
Sexuality in Marriage After Fifty.