Re: Central America
Jack Davis (ifjed@nmsua.nmsu.edu)
Mon, 3 Apr 1995 21:39:33 GMT
>I think that the most potent natural selection may have been
>climatic. Drinking in very hot climates can be fatal. Islam
>prohibits alcohol. It seems reasonable that the desert tribes that
Central and southern Spain typically reach temperatures of 40-45 C. How hot
are we talking here?
>overan the Graeco-Roman Eastern world may have discovered that wine was a
>severe handicap to their progress. The religious injunction might have had
>a very practical rationale. The United Nations Forces in the Sinai buffer
>zone had an absolute prohibition on alcohol. The Mediteranean cultures
>drank mainly wines and often watered
Sangria!!! Red wine (to keep the cholesterol down) and apples and
oranges to provide vitamins since alcohol can lead to vitamin loss. Those
brilliant Spaniards.
>On a physiological note I would venture that what the heart and mind
>can endure simply passes the reponsibility to the liver. WE nee to
>look at cirrhosis in those cultures that think they are coping!
I've spent a lot of time in Spain, know lots of Spaniards and I've never
met, heard of or met anyone who heard of cirrhosis. Must exist, but I'm
telling you, Spaniards can put away the booze.
>Robin Walker
Jack
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