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A Century Ago, Alcohol Was Legitimate Medicine
Real Clear Science ^ | 04/15/2013 | Ross Pomeroy

Posted on 04/16/2013 11:58:01 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen

At every doctor's visit, there are a few axioms you're almost guaranteed to hear: Eat healthier, exercise more, and ease up on the alcohol. But, incredible as it may seem, there was a time when the latter -- alcohol -- was considered an altogether beneficial and valuable drug, and it was utilized for a wide range of medicinal purposes.

In the early 20th century, alcohol was viewed as both a depressant and a stimulant, a conflicting label that -- as you can imagine -- grew increasingly difficult to maintain as scientific knowledge promulgated. (Today we know alcohol to be a depressant.) However, at the time, this dual-action reputation reinforced alcohol's positive image within the medical community.

(Excerpt) Read more at realclearscience.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; History
KEYWORDS: alcohol
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1 posted on 04/16/2013 11:58:01 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
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To: Kid Shelleen

It always helped granny with her Rheumatism on the Beverly Hillbillies.


2 posted on 04/16/2013 12:01:27 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (HRC:"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping,"-NKorea)
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To: Kid Shelleen

3 posted on 04/16/2013 12:04:32 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (HRC:"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping,"-NKorea)
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To: Dr. Sivana

Everclear works wonders on rotten teeth too. (Even if you don’t swallow it.)


4 posted on 04/16/2013 12:05:08 PM PDT by Slump Tester (What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh -Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: Kid Shelleen

Around that same time, cocaine also was considered a “beneficial and valuable drug.”


5 posted on 04/16/2013 12:10:00 PM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Kid Shelleen

We could use an opium den in Congre$$ these days,, mellow the ‘rats&rinos out.. one would hope anyway... used to be almost everything was legal.

In certain political realms, it still is,, until it is exposed.


6 posted on 04/16/2013 12:12:05 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

Still is. An extremely valuable local anesthetic used in emergency rooms.


7 posted on 04/16/2013 12:12:31 PM PDT by brewcrew
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To: FReepers
Refuse To Take Marxist Medicine!

Donate To Free Republic

8 posted on 04/16/2013 12:15:01 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (My faith and politics cannot be separated)
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To: Kid Shelleen

Check the label on a bottle of Nyquil.


9 posted on 04/16/2013 12:22:28 PM PDT by Yo-Yo
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To: Kid Shelleen

Some reputable doctors will still prescribe 1 oz per day of whiskey for certain heart conditions.


10 posted on 04/16/2013 12:25:16 PM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

During Prohibition could get prescription for “medicinal
whisskey” .......


11 posted on 04/16/2013 12:28:24 PM PDT by njslim (St)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

My doctor told me 1 oz. of alcohol every day would help my life expectancy by another day. At this point, I’m going to live to be 2000 years old, if my knees hold out.


12 posted on 04/16/2013 12:34:11 PM PDT by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: Kid Shelleen

For generations, doctors often advised their patients to drink alcohol as a remedy for various ailments. Perhaps the most notorious instance was the medical advice to William Pitt the Younger, one of Britain’s greatest prime ministers, to drink port in quantity for the sake of his health. This led to the liver and gastric ailments that vexed and in time ended Pitt’s life — but not before he set into place the policies and strategy that led to the defeat of Napoleon.


13 posted on 04/16/2013 12:34:33 PM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Kid Shelleen
I'm glad you posted this. I forgot to take my “medicine”.
14 posted on 04/16/2013 12:34:43 PM PDT by southernerwithanattitude (New and Improved Redneck!)
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To: southernerwithanattitude

Cheers!


15 posted on 04/16/2013 12:37:09 PM PDT by southernerwithanattitude (New and Improved Redneck!)
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To: Safetgiver
My doctor told me 1 oz. of alcohol every day would help my life expectancy by another day. At this point, I’m going to live to be 2000 years old, if my knees hold out.

i would suggest a wheel chair, but would that be considered drinking and driving?
16 posted on 04/16/2013 12:43:24 PM PDT by absolootezer0 (2x divorced tattooed pierced harley hatin meghan mccain luvin' REAL beer drinkin' smoker ..what?)
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To: Kid Shelleen

It helps me with boredom. :-)


17 posted on 04/16/2013 12:49:01 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Safetgiver

By the same logic, if a beer a day is good for you, based on my college activities back in the late 1970s, I’m still set until sometime in 2042.


18 posted on 04/16/2013 12:54:59 PM PDT by henkster (I have one more cow than my neighbor. I am a kulak.)
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To: brewcrew

My ENT still uses cocaine when poking around my sinuses.


19 posted on 04/16/2013 12:57:21 PM PDT by andyk (I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS
Some reputable doctors will still prescribe 1 oz per day of whiskey for certain heart conditions.

Alcohol - in moderation - is excellent for circulation. Nothing wrong with a Scotch or two in the evening. Or a glass or two of wine.

A Bottle or Two .... that's another story. ;-)

Many, many moons ago, my grandfather was told *by his cardiologist* to give up his nightly Scotch.

Grandpa's solution? He fired the doc, and continued to enjoy a Scotch or two in the evening. He lived to the ripe old age of 87. :-)

20 posted on 04/16/2013 1:01:24 PM PDT by wbill
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