Man Discovers His Gut Has Been Brewing Its Own Beer Due To Rare Condition

When you head to the pub for a couple of beers, you always need to remember how many you've had in case you're over the limit (to be fair, if you have to remember then you're probably over the limit).

No one likes getting pulled over by the cops and it can be a stressful experience if you've had one or two alcoholic drinks because you never know if you'll be just over the limit.

But imagine blowing into the device and have it come back positive, despite you not having a single drop of alcohol.

That's what one man experienced during a routine police stop in America.

PA

The 46-year-old did the breath test and was likely shocked to hear that the reading came back not only just positive, but said he had the equivalent of 10 standard drinks.

The man's story has been revealed in a study published in the British Medical Journal.

He insisted to the police that he hadn't drunk any alcohol, but it was only after he was tested by researchers did they confirm that he had a rare condition.

Known as auto-brewery syndrome, it's a condition in which intoxicating quantities of ethanol are produced through endogenous fermentation within the digestive system.

The BMJ wrote: "Patients with this condition become inebriated and suffer all the medical and social implications of alcoholism, including arrest for drunken driving."

The man first noticed symptoms of the syndrome in 2011 after taking antibiotics for a finger injury, the study says. He then experienced depression and brain fog, however it wasn't until he was pulled over for drink driving that he was properly diagnosed.

PA

He went to an Ohio clinic where doctors found Saccharomyces cerevisiae, known as brewer's yeast, and a related fungus in his system.

It's understood that the yeast in his system reacts with carbohydrates in his gut to produce ethanol. It's weird but true.

Doctors at the clinic tested him by feeding him a carbohydrate-rich meal and monitored his alcohol levels. Sure enough, after eight hours he was found to have a blood alcohol level of 57 mg/dl.

It's not advised to use this as an excuse though if you get pulled over by the cops because no doubt you'll have to prove you've got it.

Topics: Interesting, Community

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie