The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-06-17
Nutritive Value Of plain Beers.

Nutritive Value Of plain Beers.
Literary Digest: Some years age
great outcry was raised over PROBES
sor Atwater's discovery that alcohol in
small quantities was oxidized in the
human system and produced heat, and
was therefore food. After long
and acrimonious discussion, in which
the Professor was called number oil
hard names. 1t dawned upon his de
tractors that this scientific fact did
not in any way deny the evils Of m
temperance or oppose their advocacy
OF total abstinence It was. indeed
merely scientific truth with nc
moral bearing one way or the other
a somewhat similar report has just
been made public BY special govern.
ment commission in England, in which
good word is uttered for the nutri-
tive value of beer The general idea
that beer is primarily an alcoholic
drink is opposed in this report, which
holds that. when well and properly
made, 1t is beverage containing a
very small amount of alcohol and a
relatively large amount Of nutritive
material Says the Hospital (Iondon.
May ID. in an editorial about the re-
port:
1t is time that the erroneous view
that beer has no nutrit,ve value in it
self. and merely consists of q beyer.
ages. because they contain alcohol.
the community intoxicates itself.
should be opposed and discredited
The results of our commission show
that beer is par excellence the nutri-
tive alcoholic beverage. All beyer-
should not be regarded in the same
light. The spirit-nipper is commit.
ing quite different act from the beer
drinker; In fact, beer is much farther
removed. from the pont of view Of its
alcohol content, from some wines and
an spirits than it is from ginger beer.
When a man drinks good teer he
drinks and eats at the same time. inst
as Wnen he eats bowl Of SOUP. The
terms eat and drink, are curiousJv
put Inconsistently used as co1notine
the difference between what is mere,
~ quenching our thirst and what l.
actually consuming nourishment osr
commissioners point out man might
more properly be said to eat beer tban
. eat certain kinds Of soup or. IN.
oeeo. watermelon. Their report vii,
enable members of the medical nro.
iession and the publ, to understsnd
.lealiy what constitutes good beer
ana :. where and how they NAV obtajn
4. Beer drinkers, the number - - :,
"nom we hope will Increase -,
Sioerabiy as the result Of tba -
searches OF our commissioners ara
now IN position to protect tbeno
serves from bad beers and NC Ma
.he view that 1t would be infinitaIv "a.
.er lor the well-being OF the neon,o -
these Islands as whole If tbav 49,
- seiect beer as their habitual drink
ia.ner tnan wines or spirits. Climatic
conditions have good deal = ~
with the dietetic value of substance.
useu 1or allaying thirst. Orr com.
misioners properly drive home that
wnen man drinks beer or stout ba'
. tuaiiy, he is not only drinking b,,t
eatlng, fact which had not haar
snmciently recognized in recent vasrs
ihese beverages contain all tho eIa
men.s OF a typical diet, with the ex.
eep'ion OF fat. and in a proportion
physiological. Our
commissioners remind us that If the
worth OF food is measured bv IT.
calorimetric value the fact il that !
glass Of good ale is approximately as
nourlshing as glass of good milk
ana that quart of good beer is nearly
equivalent to quarter Of a pound of
beef" fu u
Beer and stout, the writer COOS IN
% say, are OF course not suitable for
the obese. or for those with rena, dis.
orders glycosuria or diabetes bnf
where there is no counter-indicatton
tIeir habitual use IN moderate ou,n.
titles is certainly more beneficia, tban
tnat OF wines or spirits. We read
further: go
Another important medicinal as
pect OF beer and stout, and especially
OF the latter. is their hypnotic action
stout is one of the most harmless and
best hypnotics We possess. and IS
often far more efficacious IN tho
treatment of insomnia than drugs
Part OF their action is due, our com
missioners remind us. to the hypnotic
principle contained in hops. and the
more heavily these beverages are
hopped the more marked is their hvp.
motto action. Another no;n,.
In favor Of beer and stout as beyer.
ages is that the likelihood Of their
containing pathogenic organisms is
too extremely remote. This gives them
like tea and coffee, a great advantage
over milk. for they are all prepared
under conditions which renaer pollu-
ficn by infective bacteria extremely
improbable.
These remarks must not be mfscon.
strued. We are quite alive. as our
Commissioners are, to the tremendous
harm done by the abuse of alcohol and