The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-09
BEER and DIGESTION
What DR.. Hare, Of the University of
Pennsylvania, Says About 1t.

DR.. Fl. A. Hare, demonstrator OF experimental
therapeutics and instructor in physical diagnosi,
In the University of Pennsylvania saws the rhua,
clan is frequently puzzled when prescribing n, .
convaiescent as to which alcoholic beverage ~ =
mild and pleasant character he can recommend
with the least fear of "upsetting" the stomach
The writer has, therefore, attempted to decide
this question.
Before passing to direct consideration Of ina
methods employed and the results obtained iti,
| necessary that n few physiological and therapept.
cal points be brought forward. Every one know,
that alcohol retards digestion In the test tube In,
aids it in the stomach and while these facts seem
somewhat paradoxical. they are. in reality. per.
festly logical, for the following reasons :
In the test-tube we have o given QUANTITY ~
digestive fluid on which the alcohol may act and
we cannot have any increase in the ouanttvo,
that fluid, because it Is surrounded by glass walls
In the stomach the alcohol acts quite as mucbon
the digestive ferment it does on the test.tpho
but 1t also. by the presence of that viscus excIta,
the gastric glands to such an extent that an exca,
Of gastric juice is secreted sufficient to couDterha
ance any anti-digestive influences In other
words the action of the spirit on the living tissn.
Is greater than its action on the digestive fermens
Theoretically, alcohol should never be used in
Indigestion or in conditions of gastric weakness.
practically. every physician of experience or edu.
:ation gives alcohol under just these circum
Stances and, very properly too, gives the stronger
alcoholic preparations instead of the weaker In
typhoid fever we give brandy or whisky in the
frst stages, almost solely for the purpose of In
ereasing digestion.
1t is also known, by those interested in such
matters in the profession, that beer aids digestion
but little at all. by means of its alcohol since
That constituent is present in so diluted form and
In such small quantity that it can neither add
sestion to any extent by acting the coats of the
stomach nor retard 1t by influencing the digestive
luid. 1t should not be forgotten that while ALLAH
toholic fluids theoretically retard gastricd digestion
That beer does so much less than brandy or whisky
pwing to It's small amount of alcohol, and while as
las already been shown this fact rather obtains
against its practical use, that this is overcome BY
The carbonc acid and bitter principles of the beer
which stimulate excite and act as bitter tones on
The gastric glands.
Beers, to be wholesome, should, therefore, com
lain carbonic acid and bitter principles to talr
degree, the alcohol taking a subservient and al
most useless role so far as digestion is concerned
To sum up the results of these experiments we
iud that the beers examined varied In their action
rs much as fftty-nine minutes and that while most
beers do not retard digestion in all probability In
The stomach, that others, such as those mentioned
IN the first part of the table, aid digestion very ma,
;erially.
Thus, in the case OF the BERGNER & ENGTL
BREWING COMPANY'S Tannhaeuser it will b
acted that even in the test-tubet the average delay
gastric digestion equaled but