--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Greaves, J. E. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 22 number: 5 published: 1919-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Greaves, J. E., "The "Word of Wisdom" Viewed in the Light of Modern Science," *Improvement Era* 22, no. 5 (March 1919): 371–380.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2205unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2205unse start_page: 371 end_page: 380 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2205unse publication_year: 1919 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The "Word of Wisdom" Viewed in the Light of Modern Science IMPROVEMENT ERA Vol. XXII MARCH, 1919 No. 5 The "Word of Wisdom" Viewed in the Light of Modern Science By J. E. Greaves, Ph.D., Chemist and Bacteriologist, Utah Agricultural College Joseph Smith gave to the world, on February 27, 1833, a set of principles to govern the temporal acts of man. These were given not as a command but as counsel, and certain blessings were promised to those who obeyed. This, the so-called "Word of Wisdom," contains the following principles: "That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him." "And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and it is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill. "And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly. "And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath or- dained for the constitution, nature, and use of man. "Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season there- of; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving. "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; "And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth. "And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger. "All grain is good for the food of man, as also the fruit of the vine, that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground. "Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain. "And all saints who remember to keep and to do these sayings, walking in 372 IMPROVEMENT ERA obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow in their bones. "And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; "And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; "And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen." i It is not my purpose at this time to go into a detailed analy- sis of the prevailing belief at the time this was given, but suffice it to say that it wasabout as far from the accepted facts as one could get. With this in mind, let us examine some of these principles in the light of modern science. The Use of Wine and Strong Drink Not Good The first principle — wine or strong drink is not good as a beverage — surely not gotten from the teaching of 1833, for is Edward Everett Hale tells us, in his A New England Boyhood, of the common practice of serving wine at children's parties about the year 1830 He further states that when the "Franklin ! medals" were annually awarded to Boston school boys, a ban- quet and entertainment was provided from which the youths de- parted in a tipsy condition. At this date alcohol was almost uni- versally prescribed for every disease, but today it is difficult to find a physician who orders it for his patients to any great ex- tent, and the bill for alcoholic liquors in the best hospitals is almost zero. By some it was considered necessary to have one's liquor to steady the nerve, to quicken the intellect, so that he might do his work and do it well. But this idea was exploded by the emi- nent Austrian surgeon, Dr. Lorenz, when declining wine at a banquet tendered to him in New York a few years ago. He said, "I cannot say that I am a temperance agitator, but I am a surgeon. My success depends upon my brain being clear, my muscles firm, and my nerves steady. No one can take alcoholic liquors without blunting these physical powers, which I must keep on edge. As a surgeon I must not drink." Fifty years ago alcohol was considered as a valuable food, and Lewes, in his Physiology of Common Life, tells us how a convention of total abstainers once gathered in Germany, in the city of Frankfurt, and how the cooks in the hotel in which the delegates lodged were worked as never before to supply the pas- try and pudding ordered by these strange patrons. The guests for whom the table was usually set were accustomed to supply with alcohol a want which the teetotalers met with carbo- hydrates. It was thought by the defenders of the use of alcohol that "THE WORD OF WISDOM" AND MODERN SCIENCE 373 they had scored a real victory when Atwater and Benedict, in 1899, announced that alcohol may be oxidized in the body with the liberation of energy. These results have been interpreted by some as indicating alcohol to be a food, whereas others deny this. Moreover, Miura, in similar experiments, found that alco- hol is not a food, but actually increased the destruction of body tissues, and it is from these that extra energy is obtained. It is not enough to prove that energy is liberated, but it must be shown to be energy which is economically utilized by the body. Morphine is oxidized in the body in order to protect the body from its poisonous effect, but no one would contend, therefore, that morphine is a food. Alcohol paralyzes the vasomotor system and causes dilation of the cutaneous vessels and increases loss of heat. This gives a sensation of warmth, hence the idea that alcohol warms the body. But the thermometer tells us that the internal temper- ature of the body has actually dropped. In Ross's Antarctic ex- pedition, spirits were found deleterious to the men; they were more fatigued and colder after a drink than before, and the drinkers were more liable to scurvy than the abstainers. The experience of the Hudson Bay Company was similar, and they excluded it from their provisions. Less work is performed by those who drink even small quantities than by those who abstain from its use. Tibbies states that at Uxbridge 23,000,000 bricks were made in one year. The average number made by beer drinkers was 760,000, and the tee- totalers 795,000, or 35,131 in favor of the latter. The highest number made by the beer drinkers was 880,000, and by the tee- totalers 890,000, leaving 10,000 in favor of the latter. The lowest number made by a beer drinker was 659,000, and by a teetotaler 746,000, or 87,000 in favor of the teetotaler. In a similar com- parison with printers, it was found that the average number of letters composed a day was 15.2 per cent less by those who used alcohol. Truly the users of alcohol are not the ones who "shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint," for in the South African war the use of alcohol was permitted by the British, and Sir F. Trevers, who was with the Ladysmith column, says: "The first men who dropped out of that army of 30,000 were not the tall men, nor the short men, nor the big men; they were the drinkers, and they dropped out as clearly as if they had been labeled with a big letter on their backs." Alcohol in small quantities is an appetizer, but it also de- creases the speed of digestion by the salivary, gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal juices. The results obtained by Chittenden and — Mendel are instructive in this regard they found that alcohol in the proportion of 1 to 3 per cent stimulated digestion by a 374 IMPROVEMENT ERA fraction of 1 per cent, 2 to 3 per cent checked digestion, and 3 per cent reduced digestion 17.6 per cent. The use of alcohol is a predisposing factor in disease, as seen from the following from Emery's Immunity and Specific Therapy: "The liability of alcoholic subjects to pneumonia and some other infectious diseases is well known, and in them the prognosis is more than usually unfavorable. We have but little knowledge of the action of alcohol in this rspect. It may be that it acts as a direct inhibitant of the activity of the leucocytes, and it is known to destroy certain delicate defensive sub- stances which play some part in the defense of the body against microbic invasion, but it is not known whether these effects are actually manifested in the circulating blood. It is also possible that alcohol tends to inhibit the formation of these defensive substances." Nor is it necessary for the party to be a heavy user of alco- hol for this to result, for, to "THE WORD OF WISDOM" AND MODERN SCIENCE 375 life insurance companies. If we consider the death rate among insured lives generally of the forty-three largest life insurance companies of America, between the years 1885 and 1908, as 100, the death rate among policy-holders using two glasses of beer or one glass of whisky daily, is 118, that among policy-holders giv- ing history of past intemperance, but apparently cured, is 150, whereas the death rate among policy-holders using more than two glasses of whisky daily, but regarded as temperate and standard risks, 186. The effect of the use of alcohol is not confined to this gener- ation alone, for, while it has been demonstrated that the com- municable diseases are not inherited, the complex effects in- duced by alcoholism are, that the child must suffer for the sins of the parent. It has been urged by some writers that "interpretations of the results of alcoholic investigators which are made outside of the source of experimental evidence have been usually so con- fused by preconceived ideas of the reader as to lead to the most divergent interpretations of one and the same collected data. In general, an interpretation has been the resultant of scientific record plus the personal, ethical opinions of the reader, with the last named factor playing the controlling role." But Dodge and Benedict of the Carnegie institute, of Washington, D. C, published results on the effect of alcohol on the body in which the personal element was reduced to a minimum. They used the most refined physical methods of measure- ment known to modern science to determine the effect of alco- hol on the body, with the result that one ounce of alcohol was found to decrease the response of the muscles to a stimulus ten per cent, and its ability of doing work forty-six per cent. The accuracy of the eye was decreased from five to nineteen per cent, the speech three per cent, and memory at times fourteen per cent. In other words, they demonstrated that alcohol, even in small doses, the equivalent of that in two glasses of beer, im- paired from five to fifty per cent every movement and sensation of the body. The sight, hearing, memory, speed of action, and endurance, all were greatly impaired. Tobacco Nearly as Deadly as Alcohol The second principle enunciated in the "Word of Wisdom" is that tobacco is not good for the human body. Tobacco con- tains toxic alkaloids known as nicotin, nicotillin, nicotein, nico- tianin, and certain bases such as pyridin, picolin, collidin, and others, which are formed during smoking. The use of cigar- ettes by the young is especially harmful, for they arrest the 376 IMPROVEMENT ERA natural elimination of waste and hinder the utilization of fresh material. They interfere with the proper growth and nutrition of the body. Their use stimulates an appetite for alcohol, and increases the sexual propensity, and leads to improper sexual practices. Tobacco dulls the memory and intellect, and when a promising student begins to decline in his work, it is almost certain that he has begun the use of cigarettes. The use of to- bacco often produces a chronic form of nicotin poisoning with impairment of vision, nervous irritability, or exhaustion, a pre- disposition to neuralgia, and a peculiar affection of the heart, known as the tobacco heart, characterized by irregularity of the heart sounds, accelerated action, and weakness of the cardiac muscles. Tobacco in any form may produce a chronic inflammation of the nose, throat, and stomach, and acid dyspepsia. Sleepless- ness and even blindness may result from its use. Prof. Seavers' observations on Yale students show that non-smokers make not only the best physical gains in weight, chest measure, and lung capacity, but that ninety-five out of every hundred of the best students were not smokers. Dr. Mayo, the eminent American surgeon, has called atten- tion to the fact that according to his observations, research schol- ars who smoke cigarettes have not done well. Dr. Osier states that a man is as old as his arteries. Old age, then, in the true sense of the word, means the hardening of the arteries; and a Russian investigator has proved that smoking causes the hard- ening of the arteries in lower animals, and there is every reason for believing that the same would be the case with man. If we are to believe the following vital statistics, published by the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, com- puted in and covering a period of 60 years, on a body of 180,000 policy-holders, tobacco is nearly as deadly to man as is alcohol: Rate of Actual to Expected Mortality Abstainers Rarely Use Temperate Moderate Tobacco 59% 71% 84% 93% Alcohol 57% 72% 84% 125% These are facts which have been brought to light long after the writing of the "Word of Wisdom," but surely they are indict- ments enough to prove that "tobacco is not good for man." Hot Drinks and Cancer Hot drinks are not good. This was stated in the "Word of Wisdom," in 1833. Over half a century after Dr. Mayo said to a gathering of physicians at Baltimore, "I cannot get it out of "THE WORD OF WISDOM" AND MODERN SCIENCE 377 my head that the cause of much cancer of the stomach is the drinking of hot drinks." This undoubtedly includes tea and coffee which "tradition has it that in the remote ages there was a Holy Asiatic Prince who spent his nights in meditation on the infinite. One night his ecstasy was disturbed by sleep. On waking, he was so en- raged at his weakness that he cut off his eyelids and flung them on the ground. On visiting the spot some time later he found that where each eyelid fell a small shrub had grown up. He infused the leaves of the shrub, and ever afterwards by simply drinking some of the infusion he was able to keep sleep at bay. That shrub was the tea plant!" A similar tradition exists concerning coffee: "In antique days a poor dervish who lived in the valley of Arabia Felix observed a strange hilarity in his goats on their return home every eve- ning. To find out the cause of this, he watched them during the day and observed that they eagerly devoured the blossoms and fruit of a tree which hitherto he had disregarded. He tried the effect of this food upon himself and was thrown into such a state of exultation that his neighbors accused him of having drunk of the forbidden wine. But he revealed to them his discovery and they at once agreed that Allah had sent the coffee-plant to the faithful as a substitute for the wine." These legends recognize the fact that these beverages may remove the sensation of fatigue, diminish the tendency to sleep, and if taken in excess cause insomnia. This effect is due to the caffein which these substances contain. The experiments of Hollingworth are even taken by some as indicating that tea and coffee are beneficial. He, together with several trained workers, gathered data on sixteen subjects (ten men and six women). Hollingworth gave them at intervals gelatin capsules, many of which were blank, while others con- — tained caffein the equivalent of that found in two large cups of coffee. The subjects did not know when they received the drug, but ingenious tests were made daily as to speed, dexterity, discrimination and mental alertness of the subject, with the result that when caffein was taken the work was done more rap- idly and with fewer errors than at other times. In the short duration of the experiment the results seemed to indicate that this acceleration was not followed by a reaction in which the work was not accomplished as effectively. Caffein is not a food and acts as a whip to speed up a fatigued organism, and it has been wisely stated that "a whip is appropriate for the lazy, but not for the tired, horse." These results take no consideration of the ultimate effect up- on the body. Caffein is nearly related to uric acid, a substance which accumulates in portions of the body in rheumatism, and 378 IMPROVEMENT ERA it is not impossible that in some cases the one is the antecedent of the other. Moreover, tea also contains tannin, which inhibits salivary and peptic digestion, ultimately resulting in indigestion, atony, or catarrh of the stomach. Coffee may even be worse than tea, for in some individuals it causes a disturbance of the heart, pro- ducing an uncomfortable feeling, the heart becoming intermit- tent. Cocoa contains theobromin, which produces physiological effects quite similar to caffein.Its action on the central nervous system is less pronounced, but its effects upon the muscles, heart, and kidneys, are more pronounced. It contains no tannin, yet the fat disturbs digestion, causing gastric disturbances similar to those produced by tea. Herbs and Fruits "All wholesome herbs and fruits are good for man in the season thereof." This contains a vital principle of dietetics which is recognized by but few of the laity even at the present time. Monotony in physical and intellectual work leads to deterioration in mind and body. Likewise, monotony in diet, even though the food be accurately chosen, leads to lowered bodily efficiency, and if continued long results in gastric dis- turbance. Eggs are valuable in the diet, but no one can contin- uously use them day after day without bad effects. It is well known that vegetable foods are a necessity, for if they are with- held from the diet the blood becomes impoverished and scurvy results. Moreover, it has been recently demonstrated that green plants contain a pyral group which is nearly related to the red coloring matter of the blood and without it the body is unable to replace the loss resulting from the continual breaking down of the red corpuscles. Vegetables and Meats Nor is a strict vegetable diet best for man. Waylen says he was a vegetarian for eight years. Then it dawned upon him that man is somewhat different from the beast; if a monkey can do one thing it does not follow that man does likewise: "Vegetarians as a rule are not healthy folks. They present either a wizened and emaciated appearance or a tendency to flabbiness. They have a poor circulation and are liable to chills. They suffer from dyspepsia, flat- ulence, bad breath, and anemia. Their liver and kidneys are commonly affected, and all together there is a want of vitality among them. * * * They burden their stomach with masses of crude stuff, and practically deprive themselves of fat and oil; and they daily grow thin and nervous." Nor is an exclusive meat diet good, for the flesh of beasts "THE WORD OF WISDOM" AND MODERN SCIENCE 379 and fowls is for the use of man, provided it is used sparingly and only in "times of winter, or of cold, or famine." An ex- cessive protein diet throws an extra strain on the kidneys, and this is intensified when the excess is from meat. But the great ill comes from auto-intoxication which results from excessive putrefaction in the intestines, in which there are formed poisons nearly related to but much more potent than carbolic acid. These are absorbed and give rise to hardening of the arteries and nervous disturbances. They result from the action of bac- teria upon proteins, and if these poisons be injected into the circulation of lower animals give rise to premature old age. Metchinikoff and his co-workers have tried for years to combat this by feeding animals acid-forming bacteria. These were sometimes given in tablets; at other times in sour milk, but the results so obtained were not uniform. These results were so variable that Herter considered that we have as yet no proof that sour milk has any influence whatever on the bacterial flora of the large intestines, and also no proof that such an influence would be beneficial rather than injurious to man. But the results are uniformly favorable when meat is largely eliminated from the diet, and Metchinikoff and his followers ad- vocate at the present time the limiting of the meat in the diet for the offsettting of auto-intoxication as is seen from the follow- ing: "If one wishes to have the maximum effect (meaning from the use of sour milk), it is necessary for the time being to cur- tail the use of butchers' meat and substitute fish, yolk of eggs, and other similar foods, not much alcohol should be taken, and smoking might be reduced to a minimum." While Mathews states, "The easiest method of reducing putrefaction is by a strict limitation of the diet, a reduction in the proportion of meat, and a more thorough mastication of that which is eaten." Moreover, an inquiry carried out by the British Medical Association with regard to centenarians showed that they were very moderate in regard to eating; the majority ate little meat; of thirty-eight who reached extreme old age, there was only one who ate much meat. They were not vegetarians, but they ate meat sparingly. It is only within the last few years that it has been recog- nized that meat should be used exceedingly sparingly in warm weather. Carbohydrates and fats, if taken in excess, can be stored in the body for future use, but an excess of protein taken is split and then oxidized with the liberation of heat and energy, and this excess heat may materially raise the temperature of the body; and hence, in hot weather cause bodily discomfort. Just to quote one experiment: Rubner found that the eating of two-thirds of a pound of lean meat by a dog increased the cal- ories of heat given off from 56 to 83 calories, a difference of 27 380 IMPROVEMENT ERA calories. Lusk, in commenting on these results, states: "Much meat on a hot day would, therefore, seem contradictory." "Wheat for Man" Of the principal grains only the one, "wheat for man," will be considered at the present time. The proteins which com- pose the tissues of animals and plants are made up of blocks or so-called amio-acids, the number and kind varying with the dif- ferent proteins. The plant possesses the power of building these up by aid of light from the substances obtained from water, air, and soil. But animals must obtain their amio-acids either di- rectly or indirectly from plants, and if they are not all contained within the food the animal either stops growing or dies as the case may be, depending upon the specific block which is missing. No grain contains them all in the right proportion for the pro- duction of animal tissue, but this condition is more nearly met with in the case of wheat than the other staple grains. Wheat, — — with its normal proteins gliadin and glutenin, completely suf- fices for the growth of animals, whereas corn with its two pro- teins — — glutenin and zein will produce only moderate growth. Rye and oats are even less efficient than corn. Moreover, these latter two are lacking in a fat like vitamine which is found in the corn and wheat, as shown by McCollum and Davis, who gave to rats a standard diet without any fat. In from twenty to twenty-five weeks the animals were brought to the threshold of death. Then, on adding to this diet, the different grains the following results were obtained: — Cornmeal surprising recovery and growth. — Wheat embryo recovery and growth. Entire wheat kernel—recovery, no growth. — Rye little or no improvement. — Oats little or no improvement. We recognize certain nutritional diseases associated with the extensive use of many grains. For instance, beriberi from rice, — and pellagra from corn but none have ever been attributed to wheat. Truly has science demonstrated that the individuals who obey the principles enunciated in the "Word of Wisdom" shall — receive health be physically strong, and "the destroying angel shall pass by them," and it is well known that the mind can only do its best when in a clean, strong, healthy body, and hence, "they shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures." It is doubtful whether man after eighty-five years of pro- ductive research could formulate rules more fitted to produce these ends than are contained in the "Word of Wisdom." Logan, Utah