F
former_Catholic
Guest
Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia have longstanding and great problems with alcoholism. Because of their cold harsh climate, fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive and hard to come by for most of the year, and so people easily end up deficient in potassium (which they would normally obtain from a diet rich in fruit and vegetables). In the days of limited transportation and food preservation, peoples of cold climates typically ended up severely deficient, clinically deficient, in potassium. Potassium is to muscles what calcium is to bones. The body needs potassium just to move… let alone to keep moving sufficiently to stay warm in winter.
When the body drinks alcohol the body mistakenly registers that it is obtaining potassium (fruits that naturally ferment into alcohol are high in potassium), but alcohol derived from grains/potatoes not only contains no potassium, but the alcohol further drives potassium out of the body… creating even more of a craving for potassium, driving the craving for yet more alcohol as the body becomes increasingly even more desperate for potassium… a vicious circle of potassium deficiency driving further potassium deficiency, and driving alcoholism.
Southern Europe, virtually wallowing in fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, tomato sauce and oranges year round, does not have the problem with alcoholism evident in cold climate regions because the prevalence of dietary potassium causes its population to be potassium rich, rather than largely deficient in potassium.
All other cultural, social, historical, and parenting considerations aside, potassium deficiency is a huge driving force in alcoholism.
In addition to the above, some people have a genetic requirement for dietary potassium that is higher than average, as do people who are physically very actively engaging in a whole lot of muscular movement/ hard physical labor all day long.