Alcohol Abuse - Kinds of alcohol

The alcohol in beverages is chemically known as ethyl alcohol . It is often called grain alcohol . It is produced by the natural process of fermentation: When certain foods such as honey, fruits, grains, or their juices remain in a warm place, airborne yeast organisms begin to change the sugars and starches in these foods into alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is in itself a food in the sense that its caloric content produces energy in the body, but it contains practically no essential nutriments.

Methyl alcohol , also called wood alcohol , because it is obtained by the dry distillation of maple, birch, and beech, is useful as a fuel and solvent. It is poisonous if taken internally and can cause blindness and death. Other members of the same family of chemicals, such as isopropyl alcohol , are also used as rubbing alcohols—as cooling agents and skin disinfectants—and are also poisonous if taken internally.