1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:27,359 Here is a colorless liquid that looks like water. 2 00:00:27,359 --> 00:00:32,640 It has a pungent odor and a burning sweet taste. 3 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:38,560 Its chemical formula is C2H5OH. 4 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:43,399 This is ethyl alcohol, the alcohol found in intoxicating beverages. 5 00:00:43,399 --> 00:00:49,439 It's made out of carbohydrates such as starch or sugar. 6 00:00:49,439 --> 00:00:56,840 Cereal grains are starchy materials commonly used in making alcoholic beverages. 7 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:01,600 Out of wheat, beer is usually made. 8 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:07,480 Beer contains about four and one half percent ethyl alcohol as shown by the striped area 9 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,480 across the bottom of the bottle. 10 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:17,920 And other products that contain sugar will be used to make alcoholic beverages. 11 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,960 Out of grapes, gin is made. 12 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:24,680 Wine contains about 15 percent ethyl alcohol. 13 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:30,360 All alcoholic beverages are products of fermentation. 14 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:36,880 As these samples of wheat and grapes are fermenting, alcohol is being produced. 15 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:45,160 The raw material usually needs to be prepared for fermenting or cracking or crushing. 16 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,719 Whatever is being used, fermentation has to take place. 17 00:01:48,719 --> 00:01:53,480 Fermentation is the action of yeast cells on sugars to produce alcohol. 18 00:01:53,480 --> 00:02:01,400 The bubbles seen here are carbon dioxide given off during the fermentation. 19 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,520 Beer and wine are products of fermentation alone. 20 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:12,159 But whiskey, a third type of alcoholic beverage, requires distillation as well as... 21 00:02:12,159 --> 00:02:17,540 The alcohol is separated from the other materials in the fermented mixture. 22 00:02:17,539 --> 00:02:24,139 In this case, the alcohol is made out of fermented corn mash. 23 00:02:24,139 --> 00:02:32,939 When the fermented mixture is heated, vapors are given off that contain products of the 24 00:02:32,939 --> 00:02:36,680 fermentation, including a relatively high percentage of alcohol. 25 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:43,579 As the vapors cool, they change to liquid and drip from the distillery. 26 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:49,020 Whiskey ordinarily contains about 43 percent or more of alcohol. 27 00:02:49,020 --> 00:02:54,520 When we compare the three kinds of beverages, we see that whiskey contains more alcohol 28 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,780 than either wine or beer. 29 00:02:59,780 --> 00:03:07,860 But in each of the three beverages, the intoxicating part is always the same... 30 00:03:07,860 --> 00:03:08,860 alcohol. 31 00:03:08,860 --> 00:03:19,740 By using animated drawings, we will see what happens to alcohol in the body. 32 00:03:19,740 --> 00:03:28,140 In the alcoholic beverage shown here, the black dots represent the ethyl alcohol... 33 00:03:28,140 --> 00:03:37,620 The alcohol travels down the esophagus and into the stomach and the small intestine. 34 00:03:37,620 --> 00:03:41,860 Capillaries in the stomach lead into a branch of the portal blood vein that connects with 35 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:44,780 the liver shown at the left. 36 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:50,939 These capillaries absorb alcohol directly from the stomach and the portal vein carries 37 00:03:50,939 --> 00:03:53,539 to the liver. 38 00:03:53,539 --> 00:04:00,420 Other capillaries absorb alcohol from the small intestine shown at the bottom. 39 00:04:00,420 --> 00:04:02,599 Portal vein carries so. 40 00:04:02,599 --> 00:04:07,680 In the liver, some of the alcohol undergoes an immediate change. 41 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:15,199 Enzymes found only in the liver react with the alcohol and change it to acetic acid 42 00:04:15,199 --> 00:04:18,519 and it here is white dots. 43 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:26,839 This means that the alcohol burns or oxidizes, thereby releasing calories of he... 44 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:32,679 The acetic acid molecules and the molecules of ethyl alcohol not acted upon immediately 45 00:04:32,679 --> 00:04:43,239 by the liver pass on through the veins to the heart shown here in the center. 46 00:04:43,239 --> 00:04:47,879 The more alcohol that reaches the liver at one time, the more alcohol goes on to the 47 00:04:47,879 --> 00:04:52,079 heart unchanged. 48 00:04:52,079 --> 00:04:58,159 The heart pumps this blood containing alcohol and the acetic acid into the arteries and 49 00:04:58,159 --> 00:05:03,560 on to all parts of the body. 50 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:11,319 Whereas only the liver oxidizes pure ethyl alcohol to acetic acid, any body tissue, as 51 00:05:11,319 --> 00:05:18,819 for example the tissue shown here, can oxidize acetic acid. 52 00:05:18,819 --> 00:05:25,860 As acetic acid represented by the white dots burns, heat energy is released and waste 53 00:05:25,860 --> 00:05:28,219 materials eliminated. 54 00:05:28,219 --> 00:05:35,519 Thus, the liver is the one organ of the body where oxidation of alcohol to acetic acid 55 00:05:35,519 --> 00:05:37,860 takes place. 56 00:05:37,860 --> 00:05:44,860 So except for small amounts of alcohol that escape through the lungs and kidneys, alcohol 57 00:05:44,860 --> 00:05:52,340 from the bloodstream remains unchanged until it can be acted upon by the liver. 58 00:05:52,340 --> 00:05:58,319 As the liver oxidizes molecules of alcohol to acetic acid, other molecules return from 59 00:05:58,319 --> 00:05:59,900 the bloodstream. 60 00:05:59,900 --> 00:06:05,860 The liver oxidizes about three-fourths of an ounce of alcohol per hour until the alcohol 61 00:06:05,860 --> 00:06:13,259 is all oxidized. 62 00:06:13,259 --> 00:06:21,360 As long as there is any alcohol in the bloodstream, some of it reaches the brain. 63 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,219 Here it acts as an anesthetic. 64 00:06:24,219 --> 00:06:30,099 The effects of alcohol on the human brain vary somewhat from person to person, but 65 00:06:30,099 --> 00:06:33,219 its main effects follow a general pattern. 66 00:06:33,219 --> 00:06:40,139 At first the greatest effect is on the cerebrum, outlined here with a black border. 67 00:06:40,139 --> 00:06:47,139 Five-hundredths percent is about one ounce of undiluted alcohol in the entire bloodstream. 68 00:06:47,139 --> 00:06:52,539 This darkened area is the judgment center and the center for tensions and anxieties. 69 00:06:52,539 --> 00:06:57,139 Even small amounts of alcohol tend to deaden these centers, and because of this may... 70 00:06:57,139 --> 00:07:03,139 an illusion of relaxation. 71 00:07:03,139 --> 00:07:07,620 This is ordinarily the situation in moderate social drinking. 72 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:13,459 As the concentration of alcohol in the blood rises above five-hundredths percent, the 73 00:07:13,459 --> 00:07:16,379 judgment center becomes more and more depressed. 74 00:07:16,379 --> 00:07:21,740 Gradually too, the muscular control center becomes less responsive to incoming signals 75 00:07:21,740 --> 00:07:27,340 from nerves in all parts of the body. 76 00:07:27,340 --> 00:07:35,060 The person usually feels confident that everything is all right, but a condition l... 77 00:07:35,500 --> 00:07:40,860 Drivers in this condition are incapable of making responses fast enough for the safety 78 00:07:40,860 --> 00:07:43,899 of themselves or others. 79 00:07:43,899 --> 00:07:47,180 This leads to accidents. 80 00:07:47,180 --> 00:07:55,500 The vision center too is affected during intoxication. 81 00:07:55,500 --> 00:08:01,139 This impairs the individual's normal vision. 82 00:08:01,219 --> 00:08:06,419 Blurring and other abnormalities of vision frequently occur. 83 00:08:06,419 --> 00:08:12,740 Driving or walking in traffic is extremely hazardous under such conditions. 84 00:08:12,740 --> 00:08:18,519 If the concentration of alcohol continues to increase, it finally affects a deeper 85 00:08:18,519 --> 00:08:23,060 center toward the base of the brain called the cerebellum. 86 00:08:23,060 --> 00:08:30,860 When the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream reaches about four-tenths... 87 00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:33,860 usually occurs. 88 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:39,980 Four-tenths percent is about eight ounces of undiluted alcohol in the entire bloodstream 89 00:08:39,980 --> 00:08:43,100 of an average sized adult. 90 00:08:43,100 --> 00:08:52,419 Gradually the brain and other organs are free of the anesthetic effect of the ethyl... 91 00:08:52,419 --> 00:08:56,920 But even after consciousness is regained, it takes some time before the person is fully 92 00:08:56,919 --> 00:09:05,639 in control of his muscular processes. 93 00:09:05,639 --> 00:09:13,039 After deep intoxication, the sobering up period for an average sized adult may take... 94 00:09:13,039 --> 00:09:16,679 hours or more. 95 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:21,620 Even beyond this amount of time loss, there frequently is a further period of partial 96 00:09:21,620 --> 00:09:24,620 incapacity. 97 00:09:27,879 --> 00:09:34,759 So we have seen that alcohol oxidizes in the body and produces heat energy. 98 00:09:34,759 --> 00:09:38,659 In this respect, it is like any other food. 99 00:09:38,659 --> 00:09:44,559 But as a food, heat energy is all that pure alcohol can provide. 100 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:49,679 Most other foods supply some needed material such as proteins, vitamins. 101 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:54,059 Pure alcohol contains none of these, even though it supplies calories. 102 00:09:54,059 --> 00:10:00,699 The substitution of alcohol for other foods over a long period of time produces serious 103 00:10:00,699 --> 00:10:05,859 nutritional deficiencies and decreases the resistance to infections and to such diseases 104 00:10:05,859 --> 00:10:12,819 as pellagra and berry berry. 105 00:10:12,819 --> 00:10:18,619 Those who are unable to avoid chronic overindulgence in ethyl alcohol, such as t... 106 00:10:18,619 --> 00:10:21,979 termed alcoholics or problem drinkers. 107 00:10:21,980 --> 00:10:30,279 For him, like other alcoholics, alcohol disrupts his life and injures his health. 108 00:10:30,279 --> 00:10:35,080 Investigations are convincing medical authorities that the problem drinker is a... 109 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:40,379 This man needs medical attention. 110 00:10:40,379 --> 00:10:49,180 The old method of treatment for a person in this condition was to throw him in jail. 111 00:10:49,179 --> 00:10:56,579 But the hospital is the place for a person in a helpless condition due to alcohol. 112 00:10:56,579 --> 00:11:01,419 Medical science can help the problem drinker regain his physical health. 113 00:11:01,419 --> 00:11:06,699 When there is any doubt as to the cause of the patient's condition, a complete medical 114 00:11:06,699 --> 00:11:08,739 examination must be made. 115 00:11:08,739 --> 00:11:17,699 An eye check will help determine whether the patient is suffering from shock. 116 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:22,100 By means of chemical tests on a sample of his blood, the patient can be checked for 117 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:36,220 diabetes and other diseases that may have symptoms similar to those of alcoholism. 118 00:11:36,220 --> 00:11:41,540 Blood pressure and heart tests will reveal the condition of the circulatory system. 119 00:11:41,540 --> 00:11:46,100 Physical tests and the study of the patient's history are needed in order to make sure 120 00:11:46,100 --> 00:11:53,220 that he is really suffering from alcoholism. 121 00:11:53,220 --> 00:11:56,460 Hospitalization for several days may be needed. 122 00:11:56,460 --> 00:12:05,259 During this time, he receives a balanced diet and is treated medically if necessary. 123 00:12:05,259 --> 00:12:12,860 Although he may recover physically, he must avoid all future use of alcoholic beverages. 124 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:17,300 It's made clear to him before he leaves the hospital that even a single drink will... 125 00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:25,860 lead him back again to chronic alcoholism. 126 00:12:25,860 --> 00:12:33,139 It's essential that every drinker understand how alcohol affects his body and face the 127 00:12:33,139 --> 00:12:38,860 possibility today becoming an alcoholic. 128 00:12:38,860 --> 00:12:44,980 He should realize that alcohol is a potential menace to community safety as well as to 129 00:12:44,980 --> 00:12:52,659 his personal health.