Drinks: Good and BadWater is the drink that God originally designed for man. It is the only drink, which will really satisfy thirst. Other things we drink are mostly of water; lemonade is lemon juice and water. Wine, beer, cider, and such liquids contain alcohol and many other things, mixed with water. Why do we need water? Well our bodies are made of 75-80% water and it is used in every process or work the body does. If we wet a sponge and leave it, in a few hours it becomes dry, as the water evaporates into the air. Our bodies are losing water all the time, and we need to drink to keep ourselves from drying up. Water is very necessary for many things the body does, digestion, making blood, and our brain function. Still another use for water is to dissolve and wash out waste through the sweat of the skin, and in urine. If the body does not have enough water—it can’t keep itself clean and running smoothly. The greatest single thing anyone can do for better health and a smarter mind is to drink more water. Water that has a lot of minerals in it is called ‘hard water’ it is not so good for the body. The best water to drink is distilled water, which is pure soft water. But even hard water is better to drink than no water at all. What about juice and pop and stuff? How clean would your clothes get if you washed them in pop? Your body does best with pure, soft water. It is harmful to drink very cold water, especially when your body is hot, if that’s the only water you have, the bad effects may be lessened by sipping it slowly. Many people drink tea or coffee, and think that these drinks are good foods; but they are not foods at all. Tea, coffee and cola contain a poison called caffeine (caf-feen'), which, in a pure form, is very poisonous. Even a little is enough to kill a cat or a dog. This poison does much harm to those who drink tea, coffee or cola drinks. Alcohol (al'-co-hol) All of you know something about alcohol. It will burn if we light it. It is clear and looks like water. The native American Indians, years ago, used to call it "firewater." Alcohol is not a food; It is not grown like fruits and grains; neither is it found in nature for our use, as air and water. Where does it come from? When a baker makes bread he puts some yeast, a kind of fungus, in the dough to make it "rise," so the bread will be light. The yeast eats some of the sugar and starch in the flour and changes it into alcohol and gas. The gas bubbles up through the dough, and this is what makes the bread light. This is called fermentation (fer-men-ta'-tion). The small amount of alcohol made in the bread goes away as the bread is well baked. Any liquid or moist substance, which contains sugar will ferment if yeast gets into it and it is kept in a warm place. You know that canned fruit sometimes spoils. This is because it ferments. Fermentation is a sort of decay. When the juice of grapes, apples, or other fruit is allowed to stand in a warm place, it "works," or ferments, and produces alcohol. Wine is fermented grape juice; hard cider is fermented apple juice. Beer, ale, and similar drinks are made from grains. The grain is first moistened and allowed to sprout. In sprouting, the starch of the grain is changed to sugar. The grain is next dried and ground, and is then boiled with water. The water dissolves the sugar. The sweet liquid thus obtained is separated from the grain, and yeast is added to it. This causes it to ferment, which changes the sugar to alcohol. The grain does not contain alcohol in the first place, it is produced by fermentation. All fermented liquids contain more or less alcohol, mixed with water and a good many other things. Rum, brandy, gin, whiskey, and pure alcohol are made by separating the alcohol from what it is in. This is done by a ‘still’ and is called distillation. This is how we get pure water also, but the water is good for us, and the alcohol is not. To learn how a still separates alcohol, make a little experiment. When a kettle is boiling on the stove and the steam is coming out at the nozzle, take a dry glass and put some ice in it then, being careful not to burn yourself, hold it near the steam. Little drops of water will stick to the side of the glass. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, so when they heat the stuff that has the alcohol in it, it quickly goes into the air and is caught in tubes and allowed to drip into bottles. By distilling the liquid severed times the alcohol may be almost pure. Strong alcohol has a deadly effect upon all living things. If you pour alcohol on a plant it will die very soon. A man once made a cruel experiment. He put some minnows into a jar of water and then poured in a few teaspoons-full of alcohol. The minnows tried very hard to get out, but they could not, and in a little while they were all dead, poisoned by the alcohol. Another man once gave alcohol to some pigs with their food. They soon got sick and died. There are people who think alcohol is good for food because it is made from fruits and grains which are good for food. This is a serious mistake. A person can live on the fruits or grains from which alcohol is made, but no one can live on alcohol. If he tried, he would soon starve to death, if he weren’t poisoned first. People have often died when drinking whiskey in place of food or water. People do not use alcohol as a food, but for the effects which it produces, which are not like a food, but a poison. It dulls their minds and makes them foolish and this feels good to them. Some, who would not drink strong, distilled liquor, think it’s OK to use wine, beer, or cider. This is a great mistake. These liquids contain alcohol, as do all fermented drinks. A person will become drunk or intoxicated by drinking wine, beer, or cider--the same as rum or whiskey, they just drink more, and even a little alcohol harms the body. Do you know what the word ‘intoxicated’ really means? Well people use it to mean drunk, but it really means poisoned! Alcoholic drinks make people unhealthy and shorten their lives, and they cause much poverty, crime, accidents, and misery. People who drink alcohol are not as healthy as those who don’t; they do not live as long as they could if they did not drink alcohol. If a beer or liquor drinker gets sick, or has an accident, it is harder for his body to get well again. Alcohol also hurts your brain, and without a clear mind, we cannot get to know the truths that will allow Jesus to get us ready for heaven. We must put no poison into our body-temples! Once a person gets the habit of drinking wine, cider, or other fermented drinks, he soon wants stronger drink, and starts to use whiskey or other strong liquors. It is not safe to use any alcoholic drinks, either fermented or distilled. The only safe plan is taste not--touch not! - =^..^=
|
