Uses of Alcoholic drinks

 

In many countries, alcoholic beverages are commonly consumed at the major daily meals (lunch and dinner).In places and areas with poor public sanitation, such as Medieval Europe, consumption of alcoholic drinks (particularly weak or “small” beer) was one method of avoiding water-borne diseases such as cholera. Though alcohol kills bacteria, the low concentration in beer or even wine will have only a limited effect. Probably the boiling of water, which is required for the brewing of beer, and the growth of yeast, which would tend to crowd out other micro-organisms, were more important than the alcohol itself. Additionally, the ethanol (and possibly other ingredients) of alcoholic beverages allows them to be stored for months or years in simple wood or clay containers without spoiling; for this reason they were commonly utilized onboard sailing vessels as a key (or even the sole) source of hydration for the crew, especially during the long voyages of the early modern period.In colder climates, strong alcoholic beverages such as vodka are popularly seen as a way to “warm up” the body, possibly because ethanol is a quickly absorbed source of food energy and because it dilates peripheral blood vessels (Peripherovascular dilation) — a dangerous misconception, as the perception of warmth is actually caused by the transfer of heat from the body’s core to its extremities where it is quickly lost to the environment.In many cultures, both contemporary and historical, alcoholic beverages — mostly because of their neurological effects — have also played an important role in various kinds of social interaction, providing a form of “liquid courage” (those who consume it typically gain confidence and lose discretion). While other psychoactive drugs (such as opium, coca, khat, cannabis, kava-kava, etc.) also have millennial traditions of social use, only coffee, tea, betel, and tobacco are currently as universally used and accepted as ethanol.