FICTION AND FACT by G. Milton Smith

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 7, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 39.

FICTION AND FACT.

By G. Milton Smith

THE fiction about drink is that it is a food.

The fact about drink is that a gallon of ale contains less nourishment than a penny loaf; that a glass of wine contains less food than could be put on a threepenny piece; and that a glass of spirits contains as much nourishment and is about as satisfying as the bite of a mad dog.

How can this be true, when people feel so much strengthened and revived after taking a drink?—Because stimulation and excitement are mistaken for strength.

A spur or a whip will carry a horse to the top of a hill; but no one is insane enough to suppose the horse is really stronger for the whipping.

The fiction about drink is that it strengthens

the body and enables it to endure additional fatigue.

The fact about drink is that it weakens the center of life and action, viz., the heart. A pint and a half of beer, or two glasses of wine, or one glass of spirits will cause the heart to beat 6,000 extra strokes in a day.

The fiction is that alcohol helps digestion.

The fact is that it causes indigestion and dyspepsia.

The fiction about drink is that it warms the body.

The fact about it is that it cools it, lowering the temperature, and rendering the body more susceptible to cold.—G. Milton Smith.