Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Saturday, August 16. 2014The Gin and Tonic, Malaria, and Sickle-CellAn annual re-post - Why is the CDC based in Atlanta? Because Georgia was the center of malaria in the US, and elimination of malaria from the US was the CDC's first job. It's hard to imagine, but through the 1940's malaria was endemic in the southern US, and prior to that in the northeast too. Every doc in New England used to treat malaria routinely. DDT was a major factor in the elimination of malaria in the US, but it remains a common disease in the Third World, in the southern hemisphere. And, sadly, DDT harms lots of other things, too, besides mosquitoes but probably isn't as evil as Rachel Carson claimed. The long history of malaria would make a fascinating book. I'll just share a few facts: the germ which causes malaise, fever, and anemia is a plasmodium, a wierd one-celled bug. There are 4 varieties. The vector (meaning the thing that distributes the bug) is of course an anopheles mosquito, which squirts the germ into the human bloodstream with its anticoagulating saliva. The plasmodium reproduces in your red cells, then goes loose in your blood, where it is presumably sucked up by an innocent mosquito who spreads it further. Humans are the host of this bug (meaning their reproductive home). Like any parasite, the goal is to keep the host alive, while reproducing itself. If you kill your host, you sort of defeat your purpose (like over-taxing productive people), so malaria is more likely to cause chronic illness than death, except in the otherwise vulnerable. Fascinatingly, the sickle-cell trait of Africa confers resistance to malaria. Nature is amazing, which makes being an MD an astonishing privilege. Prevention is simpler than treatment. Treatments include derivatives of sweet wormwood, as discovered in China in 300, and derivatives of cinchona bark (quinine), as discovered by the Spanish in the 1600s. The quinine treatment/preventative of course gave rise to the finest drink of the British Empire - the Gin and Tonic, which exemplifies the idea of making a virtue of necessity. A Brit will drink nothing without either gin or wine in it. Add a lime and the Limey can prevent scurvy too, as was attributed to Captain Cook. Thus truly a superior medicine for both body and soul. Does the brand of gin matter? For martinis, yes. For gin and tonics, not to me anyway. Comments
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You need to get Bombay, the gin with the picture of Queen Victoria on the label.
When she begins to look good to you, you stop drinking. That's funny. But I always thought she was kind of cute - not beautiful, for sure, but pudgy-cute. Albert surely did like her.
Well, I'm certainly glad that malaria has been eliminated in the Deep South, or I'd be dead by now, since I am allergic to quinine, and had the anaphylactic shock to prove it. Fortunately, they now have other treatments, if the Universal Health Care Rationing people will let old folks have it.
But I did use to love gin and tonic, before the allergy showed up. Marianne The sun is always setting somewere in the Emire so a G and T is always welcome.
The long history of malaria would make a fascinating book.
And has. More than one, in fact. One I've read is The Malaria Capers by parasitologist Robert Desowitz. A search on "malaria" at Amazon.com will find you several others. A friend always insists that Sapphire should not be adulterated by anything other than an olive. Or two.
When the subject of G & Ts comes up I always think of this that some wit (W.C. Fields, perhaps?) said: I need some gin, fighting off malaria, you know. And I always carry whiskey in case of snake bite, and a small snake. There is some positive to come from a good bout of Plasmodium falciparum. Losing 25 pounds in three days. That's assuming, of course, that one has a spare 25 pounds to lose. Back then I didn't, sure could use it now.
As to G&T. My beverage of choice. Addicting though, and I can see why so many succumb and are captured by its alluring charms. Is any information available on the brand of tonic in that photo? That looks good.
The sickle-cell gene confers resistance to malaria if you get a single copy of it. If you're unlucky enough to get two copies, you develop the devastating disease of sickle-cell anemia, which will render a resistance to malaria very cold comfort to you. This dangerous gene would have been competed totally out of existence by now if its single-copy version didn't have such a terrific survival advantage.
My first summer in Albuquerque, I drank gin&tonics. When I found I could drink them like water, I gave them up.
Bombay white label, 80 proof, for gin and tonic. No cans for the tonic and only Canada Dry or Schweppes.
Bombay Sapphire is for martinis--94 proof. Please, just wave the vermouth bottle over the shaker. Better yet, don't use a shaker and keep the bottle in the freezer at 0°--just add olives. "In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas. This variety has another two botanicals: lemongrass and black peppercorns, in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of American tonic water. " Actually, DDT is back. The World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations reversed its proscription against DDT. This was in September, 2006. They now believe that indoor use of the insecticide, coupled with the use of bed nets and drugs should be used to combat the spread of malaria.
BTW, I read an interesting book years back, "Mosquito Empires," about how mosquito-spread diseases, primarily malaria and yellow fever, drove the spread of black slavery in the new world. Black Africans died of these diseases, too, but many were resistant. The European settlers had no resistance, and died like flies. Black slaves could generally better withstand mosquito-borne disease that in many instances accompanied the spread of plantation agriculture in the new world, thus their wholesale importation into the Americas. If you'll remember Hogarth and his prints, gin was considered the 18th century equivalent of crystal meth.
Mrs. feeblemind contracted West Nile disease this Summer. Wish we could use DDT here.
All tonic water is not created equal and in a G&T the tonic water dominates the flavor. The diet stuff is gross, of course, but even the premium US brands pale in comparison to the imported stuff. My favorite Cambridge, MA bar to get a G&T in uses Indian tonic water (Fever-Tree, I think). I thought it was a gimmick until I actually tasted it.
I believe that the old cures and preventatives were more about alleviating the symptoms and didn't prevent infection or cure Malaria once infected.
I have suspected that West Nile disease was introduced by terrorists. No evidence of course but why not and it comes from their part of the world. You would assume that they would brag about it as a successful attack but it could well be the first of many diseases they intend to bring here. I'm writing in protest of the post above. A true martini has a 4:1 gin:vermouth ratio, the same as any other cocktail. A martini without noticeable vermouth is iced gin, which tastes remarkably like sparky charcoal lighter fluid.
I thought it was the quinine water that was the preventative, not the gin.
Commercial tonic water has 20+ grams of sugar in a serving. This forced me to make my own once I found a source for the powdered cinchona bark. Quite easy to make on the stove top and outstanding taste...just add a bit of soda water for the carbonation.
Protest if thou must. A Martini is gin. Vermouth is a foul fluid and not fit for consumption by the sophisticated palate. My apologies. If one must have Vermouth with a Martini, a single drop will suffice. If you are in my home as my guest I will gladly prepare your beverage to your spec. Methinks you protest too much. After a Martini or two the totality of ingredients lose gravity as one loses the ability to resist it.
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