CHAPTER IV STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS I. DEFINITIONS 77. Stimulants. In the preceding chapter we discussed food substances, and these, we learned, yield material for the repair or growth of the body, or supply the fuel necessary for producing energy in the body. But in addition to the various nutrients that may be used for one or all of these purposes, we often take with our food certain substances that are not useful to any considerable extent in any of these ways. As examples of such substances, we may mention spices. Such substances add an agreeable flavor to our foods, and so stimulate our appetites; hence, they are known as stimulants. A stimulant is any agent that temporarily quickens some process in the body. The most common stimulants are tea, coffee, and alcohol. 78. Narcotics. Another class of substances that we sometimes use has an effect directly opposite to that of stimulants. Ether, morphine, and chloroform, for example, do not quicken any process in the body as do stimulants, but, on the contrary, lessen the degree of activity. Any compound that acts in this way is called a narcotic. A narcotic is any substance that directly induces sleep, blunts the senses, and in sufficient amounts produces complete insensibility. II. BEVERAGES The 79. General effect of tea and coffee on the body. effect of tea and coffee on the body is due to the presence of essentially the same stimulant in both (caffein), which acts largely on the nervous system. In both tea and coffee, as they are usually prepared, is another substance known as tannin. This chemical, when obtained from the bark of certain trees, is used in tanning or hardening leather. When tannin is taken into the stomach, it is found to injure the mucous membrane and to retard digestion. 80. The preparation of tea and coffee. To prepare tea properly, boiling water should be poured upon tea leaves, and the infusion allowed to stand only a few minutes before pouring. Tea should never be put on the stove to boil, for two reasons: in the first place, by this treatment the delicate taste and odor of the beverage are lost; and in the second place, if the tea infusion is boiled, a considerable quantity of the tannin is dissolved by the water. Obviously the tea grounds should not be used a second time. Most that has been said in regard to tea applies equally well to coffee, except that in the preparation of coffee the infusion should be put on the stove and allowed to come to a boil; it should then be poured out, and should not stand on the coffee grounds; otherwise the tannin will be extracted. Coffee is best prepared by the use of a percolator, since in this utensil the water is continuously forced over the ground coffee. "When 81. The use and abuse of tea and coffee. properly made, tea in moderation is a wholesome, agreeable, and refreshing stimulant beverage, particularly grateful in conditions of mental or physical weariness. Used in F excess, it exerts a harmful influence upon the nervous sys tem, and in a too strong form injures the digestive organs." The foregoing remarks, quoted from Harrington's "Practical Hygiene," apply to adults rather than to growing children and youths; for in early life stimulants of every kind should be avoided as much as possible, as they tend to interfere with the healthful development of the body. We should remember that tea and coffee are not foods, and so cannot be of use in repair or growth of tissue, both of which functions are of prime importance during the first twenty years of life. The habitual use of these beverages, especially at breakfast, is also likely to decrease the desire for the food that is needed. While it is true 82. Chocolate, cocoa, and soda water. that cocoa and chocolate both contain a considerable amount of nutriment when eaten in solid form, when prepared as a beverage, the small amount so used makes its food value relatively unimportant unless milk is used. Chocolate and cocoa contain a certain amount of a stimulant similar to that found in tea and coffee. Since the sirups and ice cream used in the preparation of soda water contain a considerable amount of sugar, these drinks should not be taken habitually between meals, because they tend to impair digestion and to lessen the appetite at meal time (75). 83. Alcoholic beverages. "In the case of an alcoholic beverage we have to deal with something which, like tea and coffee and cocoa and 'temperance drinks' is used as a beverage, and to that extent must be classed in the same group. Alcoholic drinks are, however, taken as stimulants, and so resemble tea and coffee and cocoa; but they differ from all these in their action upon the body. Moreover, their abuse gives rise not only to degraded moral and social conditions, but is also attended with bad hygienic effects. Every one should be informed of their nature and of the dangers attending their use." - HOUGH and SEDGWICK, "The Human Mechanism." 84. Alcohol as a possible food. Like the carbohydrates and fat, alcohol is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Since it contains no nitrogen, it has no value in the processes of growth and repair; in other words, it cannot be made into protoplasm. It cannot, therefore, like meat, milk, and eggs answer as a complete food. Alcohol we know may be burned in lamps for the production of heat, and in engines for the generation of power. Professor Atwater has shown that alcohol also, if used in sufficiently small amounts, may produce within the human body a certain amount of heat and muscular power. Indeed, in some cases of extreme weakness, especially in diseases, alcohol is regarded by some eminent physicians as necessary for saving life, though even for this purpose it is now being used to a less extent in medical practice. 85. Alcohol as a stimulant and a narcotic. On account of the amount imbibed, however, alcohol, as ordinarily used in beverages, is practically always either a stimulant or a narcotic. In later sections we shall discuss the effects of alcohol on various organs of the body. One fact should, however, be continually emphasized; namely, that even if it should be taken for granted that alcohol, when used by adults in moderation, may generate a certain amount of energy, still this is an exceedingly dangerous compound to introduce in any form into the diet of a boy or girl. In the first place, it interferes with the healthy growth of protoplasm; and in the second place, the use of liquors in moderation by a great many people, both young and old, is absolutely im possible. Men never become drunkards, paupers, and crim inals by taking the nutrients, starch, sugar, fat, or protein, nor does the taste for any one kind of food become uncontrollable, as is so often the case with alcohol. "Till he has tried it, no one can be sure whether he can control his appetite or not. When he has ascertained the fact, it is often too late. The child should be taught to avoid alcohol because it is dangerous to him. The only certain safety for the young lies in total abstinence." 86. Effects of small and large quantities of alcohol. The effects of alcohol on the body depend very largely upon the quantity taken; if the amount is small, alcohol may possibly be regarded as a source of energy, and hence in a limited sense, as a food; in larger amounts it increases temporarily the activity of the organs of the body, and so it seems to become a stimulant; if still larger quantities are taken, the narcotic effects of alcohol are shown in complete insensibility; and finally, a sufficient amount may be consumed to poison the organs and cause death. No one who begins the use of alcohol expects to take such an amount that it will act as a poison, or even like a narcotic. There is, however, a constant danger that he will do so. 87. Professor Hodge's experiments with dogs. During the years 1895 to 1900, Professor Hodge of Clark University, Worcester, Mass., carried on some very instructive experiments upon dogs. He secured four spaniel puppies (Fig. 23), all of which were born on Washington's Birthday, 1895; the two males were brothers, and the females sisters. Professor Hodge carefully watched the four for nearly two months before beginning his experiments, in order to pick out the two most vigorous animals; these he named " Tipsy and "Bum," and then put in with their chief meal each day |