Word: journals
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...arguing that alcohol i) gives them "a lift," 2) helps them to do more work, 3) aids digestion, or 4) gives them heart to make a public speech which they would be too scared to make while cold sober. All four are just poor excuses, says the current Journal of the American Medical Association; by & large, alcohol is not a stimulant but a depressant...
Since alcohol affects different parts of the body in different ways, the Journal explains, its effects must be considered separately. For example, it is true that alcohol in the mouth stimulates the flow of saliva and thus helps digestion-but so does lemon juice. A little alcohol in the stomach increases the secretion of gastric juice, but the Journal contends that concentrations over 5% (likely to be reached after the first Martini) slow up the digestive process...
...drinker's flushed face is caused by stimulation of the blood vessels in the skin. But, says the Journal, "the feeling of warmth after the taking of alcohol is deceptive, because this feeling is associated with rapid heat loss...
...fallacy of the stimulating effect of alcohol is greatly enhanced," the Journal sadly and soberly concludes, "by the drinker who is convinced that he is performing better when he is under the influence . . . This apparent stimulation [has been aptly compared] with a car on a hillside. Alcohol releases the brakes but does not cause the car to run better...
...Quaint Idea. This radical proposal was promptly slapped down by the Wall Street Journal, which observed that "preserving competition by creating a Government-dictated cartel is ... a quaint idea." Big Steel's Chairman Irving S. Olds offered another kind of comment. In his annual report last week, he disclosed that profits in 1949 were the highest since 1929 and totaled $165,908,829 (v. $129,627,845 in 1948). But Olds carefully pointed out that U.S. Steel's slice of the nation's steelmaking capacity has declined steadily from 44.2% in 1902 to 32.2% today...