Alcohol and the molecule to which it’s first metabolized, acetalde-hyde, disrupt many systems and organs in the body Their constant presence can therefore cause a broad range of serious and even fatal diseases The Source of Happiness and Oblivion Observers of the human condition have long remarked on the ways in which alcohol helps people deal with that condition Here are two of the earliest and simplest formulations, from the Ayurvedic tradition of India, and from the Old Testament Wine is the foremost of all things that lead to cheerfulness Abuse of wine is the foremost of all causes that lead to loss of intelligence and memory — Charaka-Samhita, ca 400 BCE Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto them that be of heavy hearts Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more — Proverbs, ca 500 BCE How the Body Metabolizes Alcohol Our bodies eliminate alcohol by breaking it down in a series of chemical reactions and using the energy freed by those reactions Alcohol’s chemical structure has similarities to both sugar and fat, and it has a nutritional value between the two, around 7 calories per gram (sugar has 4 calories per gram, fat 9) It provides around 5% of the calories in the American diet, much more among heavy drinkers Alcohol is broken down and converted into energy in two organs, the stomach and the liver The “first-pass” metabolism of alcohol in the stomach consumes a portion before it ... down in a series of chemical reactions and using the energy freed by those reactions Alcohol’s chemical structure has similarities to both sugar and fat, and it has a nutritional value between the two, around 7 calories per... Alcohol is broken down and converted into energy in two organs, the stomach and the liver The “first-pass” metabolism of alcohol in the stomach consumes a portion before it ... value between the two, around 7 calories per gram (sugar has 4 calories per gram, fat 9) It provides around 5% of the calories in the American diet, much more among heavy drinkers Alcohol is broken down and converted into energy in two organs, the stomach and the