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Tea and Alcoholism: A Long HistoryCopyright © 2008 Jon M. StoutAnyone who suffers from alcoholism knows that it is an incurable disease that is as insidious as it is devastating. But with total abstinence from drink and the use of support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous recovery can be life long. With the recognition that alcoholism is a disease that can be treated, the stigma of out of control behavior associated with alcoholism has been lifted and those recovering alcoholics can lead normal productive lives. Again, alcoholism is a disease and not a character defect. It affects all classes of people, all races and all nationalities. Tea has had a long relationship with alcoholism dating back to the 16th century in Britain as water was polluted and deadly while drinks like milk were equally as dangerous before Pasteurization. As early as 1542, Doctors in Britain determined that water was unsafe to drink because of waterborne diseases particularly in congested cities like London. The threat was real with diseases like cholera, dysentery and others taking a toll on those who did not boil their polluted water. In the British Isles, a solution was found in the form of ale and beer. Consumption of ale became a substitute for water and milk as the population added ale to their breakfast, lunch and dinner menus and as a source of hydration. The fermentation process killed almost all bacteria, added valuable nutrients and other substances but alcohol was the result. Ale and sometimes wine were a necessary complement to English, Irish, Welch and Scots dining and permeated the culture. Add to the consumption of beer and ale, the use of distilled spirits by the working class who drank spirits as a way to increase energy for hard manual labor and the use of all forms of alcohol became the norm throughout British society. Alcohol in the form of rum was an institutionalized drink in the British Navy for many years. One distilled drink, gin, became a very popular drink in the 1700’s in Britain. Introduced from Holland, Gin was cheap and powerful and rapidly spread as the drink of choice by all levels of society. Gin soon became an epidemic because it was used as a temporary respite from the hard living conditions of 18th century Britain and it was even given to children as a way to encourage sleeping. By 1750 the “Gin Epidemic” was in full force and caused major declines in productivity, disruption of the family unit and concerns among social activists. The total per capita (every man, woman and child) of gin at that time was 2.2 gallons per annum and added to the 30 gallons per capita of ale and beer was a level that was becoming dangerous to individuals and society. It had been a fact that traditionally, the Chinese, after consuming excessive amounts of rice wine and other drinks, used tea as a way to counter alcohol intoxication and poisoning. This fact caused an increase in British tea consumption in general and at the multitude of temperance meetings held by a growing number of temperance societies that were formed to address the problem of alcoholism. It is important to note that tea does not cure the causes of alcoholism but, coupled with various self help programs, tea can be a valuable addition to recovery one day at a time. So, if alcohol is a problem for you, join a self help group like Alcoholics Anonymous and reach for a cup of tea instead of a drink. Your life will be better for it. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Jon M. Stout can be reached at: jon.stout@GoldenMoonTea.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: jon.stout@GoldenMoonTea.com
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