Well, I won’t be back to this site, as I know I’m breaking a cardinal rule of recovery.

Peace,
Brad

Anyway I also think Gladwell is seriously in need of a better editor, at a different magazine. He is helping turn the New Yorker into a monument to pop science, reader cartoons and, did you see the dog photo contest? Egads. I loved that magazine once, but hopeless anecdotal obsessives like Gladwell are turning me off. Nobody else calls this thing’s bluff?

There also is the impact of winemaking on society – here I posted about little kids in Calabria that made ads for Calabrian wine at school and posted them on youtube: http://livefromtuscany.blogspot.com/2010/02/whys-of-wine-what-is-up-with-america.html. Since these kids probably personally know someone that makes wine, whether it be a family member or a friend, they did these slogans as a way to support their own community. If your Dad makes it, is it really that “forbidden” and dangerous? The actual winemaking process is much more foreign in the U.S. considering our rates of importing wine from abroad.

I paid $1.40 for about 0.75 liters. I only drank it the one time seriously. Pure is painful, it just burns when it touches the lips, and when I mixed it with fruit juice it ended the night fairly sharpish.

Puro plays an important role in the annual Tinku festivals, which are basically street brawls, requiring a human blood sacrifice for the upcoming harvest.

Fun memories

Let me help you out a bit. From the Mayo clinic:

Alcohol addiction — physical dependence on alcohol — occurs gradually. Over time, drinking alcohol alters the balance of some chemicals in your brain, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which inhibits impulsiveness, and glutamate, which excites the nervous system. Alcohol also raises the levels of dopamine in the brain, which is associated with the pleasurable aspects of drinking alcohol. Excessive, long-term drinking can deplete or increase the levels of some of these chemicals, causing your body to crave alcohol to restore good feelings or to avoid negative feelings.

Other factors can lead to excessive drinking that contributes to the addiction process. These include:

* Genetics. Certain genetic factors may cause a person to be vulnerable to alcoholism or other addictions.
* Emotional state. High levels of stress, anxiety or emotional pain can lead some people to drink alcohol to block out the turmoil. Certain stress hormones may be associated with alcoholism.
* Psychological factors. Having low self-esteem or depression may make you more likely to abuse alcohol. Having friends or a close partner who drinks regularly — but who may not abuse alcohol — could promote excessive drinking on your part. It may be difficult for you to distance yourself from these “enablers” or at least from their drinking habits.
* Social and cultural factors. The glamorous way that drinking alcohol is portrayed in advertising and in the media may send the message that it’s OK to drink excessively.

In other words, alcoholism is NOT just a symptom or self-medication or something in between. It CAN be but it also can be rooted in genetic factors — inherited traits — that are the root cause. Some additional information for you:

Genetic factors play a significant role in alcoholism and may account for about half of the total risk for alcoholism. The disorder is so complex, however, that no single gene is likely to be a major culprit.

Researchers are investigating a number of inherited traits that make particular individuals susceptible to this disorder. Some examples are the following:

* The amygdala is an area of the brain thought to play a role in the emotional aspects of craving, which can lead to addiction. One study found that the amygdala is smaller in subjects with family histories of alcoholism, suggesting that inherited differences in brain structure may affect risk. Other studies suggest that certain brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) and proteins in the amygdala region may be involved in the link between anxiety and alcoholism.
* Because alcohol is not found easily in nature, genetic mechanisms to protect against excessive consumption may not have evolved in humans as they frequently have for protection against natural threats. Some evidence, then, indicates that a lack of genetic protection plays a major role in alcoholism. Such studies have found that people with a family history of alcoholism tend to “hold their liquor” better than those without such a history. Experts suggest some people may inherit a lack of those warning signals that ordinarily make people stop drinking. Research suggests this factor may contribute to between 40 – 60% of alcoholism cases related to genetic factors. (Even in the absence of genetic factors, repeated exposure to alcohol increases the ability to tolerate larger amounts before experiencing behavioral impairment.)
* Genes that regulate certain chemical byproducts of alcohol are under intense scrutiny. Alcohol is metabolized in a two-stage process: It is first converted to acetaldehyde (AcH), which is then converted into acetate. AcH is being researched because it plays a role in most actions of alcohol, including damaging effects on the liver and upper airway. It also may be protective. For example, some people, particularly in some Asian and Jewish populations, may be less likely to become alcoholic because of a genetic deficiency in AcH, which produces a buildup of acetate after drinking alcohol. Acetate is toxic and in high amounts causes flushing, dizziness, and nausea. Individuals with this genetic factor, then, are less likely to become alcoholic. (This deficiency is not completely protective against drinking, however, particularly if there is social pressure and high exposure to alcohol, such as among college fraternity members.)
* Some people with alcoholism may have an inherited dysfunction in the transmission of serotonin. This is an important brain chemical messenger known as a neurotransmitter. It is important for well-being and associated behaviors (e.g., eating, relaxation, sleep). Abnormal serotonin levels are associated with high levels of tolerance for alcohol. They are also linked to impulsive and aggressive behaviors, which can predispose people to drink and can increase the risk for dangerous behaviors and suicide in alcoholics. (Serotonin abnormalities can also develop from environmental pressures as well, such as early loss in childhood.)

Hope that helps balance your perspective on this disease a bit.

Peter

I think taxes are never a good solution, high taxes just drive me to drink cheaper wine…