SC - alcohol content in beer

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/8/98 8:00:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sunnie at exis.net
writes:

<< Actually, they didn't have near as many healthy babies as we did.  What was
that
 infant mortality rate again?  I bet it went up as the quality of the food
did,
 though, just like today. >>

Perhaps...not being a mother I can't say but I would venture to guess that
food was not a major factor in the drop in infant mortality but rather
whooping cough, typhoid, measles, mumps, smallpox, polio, venereal disease,
croop, pneumonia, parasites such as tapeworm and trichinosis, etc. ad nauseum
and a general ignorance of the cause of disease accounted for the majority of
infant fantalities in the MA.. 

Certainly the height and size of growing children can be attributed to better
nutrition but the reality of the matter is that there is little or no facts to
support a position that beer and wine consumption contributes greatly to
infant mortality in any numbers that would indicate a significant impact let
alone account for the widespread TOTAL avoidance of those particular foods.
The studies that originally were used to prove the "fetal alchohol syndrome"
were conducted on a few thousand alcoholic prostitutes. The results of this
particular type  of study, considering the test subjects, should not be of
much concern to normal healthy women other than as a curiosity, IMO. Of
course, not being in the position of having been pregnant my opinion is
irrelevant.

Certainly there is reason for caution, in folowing good healthy guidelines
when pregnant but as the oldest of 8 children born from a woman who both
smoked and drank in moderation while carrying those 8 children , I fail to see
a corresponding need for total abstinance. I weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces at
birth. My other siblings weighed between 8 and 9 pounds at birth.

If I were ever to become pregnant (an impossibility, I know), I would hope
that my main concerns would be avoidance of any artificial additives in my
diet and avoidance of  chemical based medications. Add to that staying away
from car exhaust fumes and other petroleum based nasties, I would hope for a
healthy child while enjoying an occasional glass of wine or beer.

Each person must decide for themselves what is the best path to follow but I
cannot concieve banning the fruit of the vine based on such flimsy evidence. I
do, however, admire those who have chosen to take the path of abstention.

BTW, the USA has one of the highest infant mortality rates of any
industrialized nation.

A'aql (pronounced Ras)
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================