"Is alcohol a dangerous toxin foreign to our bodies?
Quite to the contrary. Every living human body continuously produces ethanol (beverage alcohol) 24/7. It's called endogenous ethanol production. Human life does not exist without the presence of alcohol.
Microorganisms in our digestive system constantly convert sugar into carbon dioxide gas and ethanol. The quantity of alcohol produced depends on our diet, but can reach about an ounce of "pure" alcohol per day. That's equivalent to almost two alcoholic drinks: two beers, two glasses of wine, or two shots of whiskey.
Our belief that alcohol is a poison and foreign to our bodies is based in our temperance past. The United States imposed National Prohibition for almost 14 years (1920-1933) and we are currently experiencing significant neo-prohibition sentiment.
Temperance activists disregarded scientific knowledge and, instead, made many clearly absurd assertions...
...
Instead of stigmatizing alcohol and trying to scare people into abstaining, we need to recognize that it is not alcohol itself but rather the misuse of alcohol that is the problem."
>Alcohol gives you a buzz by destroying your brain cells.
That's totally incorrect.
Alcohol INCREASES levels of norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter responsible for arousal. Elevated norepinephrine also increase impulsivity.
Alcohol REDUCES activity in the prefrontal cortex and temporal cortex. This is where decision making, rational thought, memory formation, and aggression suppression is managed.
In large amounts it's much harder on your liver than your brain, but in moderation it's fine.
Quite to the contrary. Every living human body continuously produces ethanol (beverage alcohol) 24/7. It's called endogenous ethanol production. Human life does not exist without the presence of alcohol.
Microorganisms in our digestive system constantly convert sugar into carbon dioxide gas and ethanol. The quantity of alcohol produced depends on our diet, but can reach about an ounce of "pure" alcohol per day. That's equivalent to almost two alcoholic drinks: two beers, two glasses of wine, or two shots of whiskey.
Our belief that alcohol is a poison and foreign to our bodies is based in our temperance past. The United States imposed National Prohibition for almost 14 years (1920-1933) and we are currently experiencing significant neo-prohibition sentiment.
Temperance activists disregarded scientific knowledge and, instead, made many clearly absurd assertions...
...
Instead of stigmatizing alcohol and trying to scare people into abstaining, we need to recognize that it is not alcohol itself but rather the misuse of alcohol that is the problem."
From http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/Alcohol-A-Dan...