Quoted from dawgmama

Hey Ribbit and Diana, you are like me, a "cheap date"!   I can "feel" the effects of the alcohol after just a few sips too. My body is very sensitve to any type of medicine also.I rarely drink wine, even though I enjoy sipping it while I make supper, because even half a glass makes me so sleepy that I don't get anything done in the evening. Now I make myself a cup of tea and sip that instead.

Hi dawg, yes..we are "cheap dates" .  I have to stick to coffee when I go out with a guy    

You know my father, AB, was not an alchoholic, but he indulged. He had a stock of Seagram's royal crown, gin, vodka.   that I gave away. If you look in the album at me in the pics with him, you'll see him holding a high ball. (Canadian Club and ginger ale he liked at holidays and events.)    Me? I'm a pirate. I like rum.(drinks,balls,Italian pastries) I don't indulge very often..anymore, especially since I've been more health conscious..and reading what Dr. D says about alcohol..

That's ok Ms. Ribbit..I wouldn't mind being an RN

Someone told me of a study of no alcoholism among Greeks. I find that hard to believe. Does anyone have any info?
I used to wish I was part Indian & was disappointed to find out I was all European ancestry(as far as I know). I have a soft spot in my heart for them who suffered & now the gov't gives them casino licenses to further harm them.

Personally, I can't tolerate alcohol. Once I ate some mushrooms cooked in wine which wasn't cooked completely out & the next day I looked sick. I don't tell people what to drink, but I can't even tolerate milk!!
I live in an area with lots of bars which doesn't bother me. It's near a famous ballpark, so either they clebrate or drown their sorrows! Yesterday, it was a sad one!!!!

Oh, I'll drink a glass of wine with dinner out, I just have to go really slow until my food arrives.

I like rum too, Di.  It's the only thing "hard" I will drink.  Somehow nothing else appeals to me.

Quoted from Ribbit

Alright, here's DH's take in it.  He said when you have a fairly (relatively) small population interbreeding, with no new information, some genetic defects are going to pop up.  

BUT even if it was a small population interbreeding,
a)  it wasn't THAT small, and there were more and more peoples coming into the American continents over about 50,000 years;

b)  even if this "genetic defect" DID pop up, it still doesn't explain why it TOOK OVER the Indian populations;

c)  why is there no history of the North American Indians even HAVING alcoholic beverages?  IF they had alcoholic beverages, then that genetic defect would have probably ... um ... receded ... out of the population, since its effect is apparently to disable when alcohol is available!

On the National Geographic Genographic Project webpage, (on the tab called "Atlas of the Human Journey") starting at 60,000 - 55,000 B.C., it shows a big white blob (I'm assuming that's glaciers) across the route that would have had to be taken by humans coming into the American continents across the Bering Straits.  The glaciers covered that area all the way up until 10,000 B.C. when a slim channel opens up through (but it was still probably darned cold)check it out (you can click on the little black squares on the timeline (the square turns gold-colored) to bring up the map for those years):
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html

... so ... hypothesis:  they tried to bring alcoholic beverages and yeasts but the yeasts couldn't survive the journey through the cold and there were no natural yeasts IN the early American continents.

another hypothesis:  only people who were intolerant of alcohol could survive the trip through the glaciated area for about 40,000 years ... hmmm.

okay, guys, more theories?

anyway, it's a fascinating question, IMHO!

Quoted from Ribbit

I like rum too, Di.  It's the only thing "hard" I will drink.  Somehow nothing else appeals to me.

Me too!   Is it a Warrior thing, or an A thing?

Mrs. T O+

Quoted from Mrs T O+

Someone told me of a study of no alcoholism among Greeks. I find that hard to believe. Does anyone have any info?

I don't have any study to back this up but I doubt that study highly.  I'm half Greek, half German and grew up in Cyprus and have known Greek alcoholics.  There could certainly be the case that there are fewer as growing up wine is an integral part of the culture and you are exposed from a young age and it really is no big deal to drink as there are no age limits (at least I didn't know any when I was growing up).

I can handle red wine pretty well (takes at least 3 glasses to get me tipsy) but no other alcohol - it tears my stomach to shreds.  But I will wake up in the middle of the night after drinking with bad insomnia so I really don't drink that much.  However I will enjoy the occasional half a glass while cooking.

Since Native Americans came about before A and B developed, they are Type O's, and that would likely also include lacking the A and B antigens, which Dr. D says are the main helpers in metabolizing a lot of ingested foodstuffs.

Since Type O's have a tendency towards sensation seeking, and alcoholism is a common addiction among type O's, this seems to fit that alcoholism would become a problem amongst the population, especially since there is no history of the use of it amongst the people.

Also remember that NA's don't grow facial hair. This is changing since the introduction of foriegn genes.

There were three migrations of people's into the Americas over successive time periods. 60,000 y o is when one of those migrations very likely took place.

There is genetic evidence of people from Europe traveling and interbreeding with NA's during the last ice age. And this is backed up by a certain arrowhead type.

There is also some evidence (facial hair on sculptures) of Asian travelers visiting the coast of South America.

"Apocalyptico" looks a lot more interesting now.

Quoted from Still

... so ... hypothesis:  they tried to bring alcoholic beverages and yeasts but the yeasts couldn't survive the journey through the cold and there were no natural yeasts IN the early American continents.

Tim Flannary proposed something like this in his book The Last Frontier if I remember right.   He was specific with his opinion that migration moved into the Americas 13,500 years ago, over an ice bridge.    This book is quite stunning to read from a climate change point of view, by the way

Quoted from Sky

There is also some evidence (facial hair on sculptures) of Asian travelers visiting the coast of South America.

1421: The Year China Discovered America

http://books.shop.ebay.com/?_f.....erica&_sacat=267

The "Star Fleet" it was called. And a PBS special about it talked about the claims of the journey, and how most were correct, but discovering the new world was a false claim by the author.

I think a preference for rum has more to do with your generation....rum is "in" at the moment, with the "mojito", a delicious drink. Whiskey is old school, etc.
Strange testimonial:
As a "thrill-seeking"O, I tended to like my booze when younger (still would if intelligence hadn't intervened)....but nothing helped me balance my tendency to overindulge like wine tasting. My DH was totally into wine and wine tasting (2nd husband) and the more we pursued the tasting, with the discriminating of flavors and aromas, the less I drank. the less I drank the more discriminating I became. I owe my current relationship to alcohol(healthy) to wine tasting!!!

I have a fair percentage of native traits(Ojibwa,Cherokee) like minimal facial hair,dark complexion,tall and lean.
I cant tolerate alcohol at all.
1 beer used to give me a buzz at 175 lbs bodyweight,2 beers would make me giddy and flushed! It was amusing to my wife and friends though. I dont drink at all anymore.

Interesting thought Jaynee.  I didn't know rum was "in".  All my friends my age live far, far away.  All my friends now are older than me.

I never would drink rum until the mojito became popular. It's quite refreshing.

What's a mojito?

Rum, lime juice, fresh spearmint leaves and seltzer or club soda. You can add sugar if desired.

Oh!  Wow.  Hm.  *Mind spinning already*

and you "muddle" the mint leaves, (mash them). mmmm.

Hi, newbie here.  Doesn't alcoholism have a link to hypoglycemia?  Sugar and alcohol act the same way in the body I've heard.  Maybe people who crave sugar are more likely to use alcohol.

craving is always a lack of something essential.....

a deficit of nutrients can catapult deeper issues, giving the person a false positive response......and creating a vicious unhealthy cycle.

we are very complex beings......
mind and body should work together
healthy mind in a healthy body, right?

Yes, I agree, craving usually points to a deficiency.  I've found that a healthy body really helps the mind.  Eliminating wheat has done wonders for my mind.

glad you have already witnessed that!
results like those make compliance a breeze!

Sarah, I have read that as well.  My husband's grandfather drank himself to death.  Hypoglycemia (as well as diabetes) runs in his family.  DH thinks his low blood sugar is what drove him to drink.

My father drank more than he should have when he was younger.  Fortunately, it didn't run or ruin his life, but I share the hypoglycemia issue with him.  His father drank too much too, and had a terrible temper.  I don't know if he also had hypoglycemia, but it's likely.

Quoted from Christopher

I have a fair percentage of native traits(Ojibwa,Cherokee) like minimal facial hair,dark complexion,tall and lean.
I cant tolerate alcohol at all.
1 beer used to give me a buzz at 175 lbs bodyweight,2 beers would make me giddy and flushed! It was amusing to my wife and friends though. I dont drink at all anymore.

Christopher, how do you respond to other drugs and pharmacuticals?    Do you have high aerobic or athletic capacity?