Researchers at the Richmond University Medical Center in New York have shared the incredible story of man whose body produces alcohol.
The man whose identity was concealed was arrested by the police in North Carolina over suspicion of driving drunk.
Despite the man strongly swearing that he did not take alcohol and refusing to take a breathalyzer test, the police did not believe him.
The man, in his late 40’s at the time, was taken to a hospital, where his initial blood alcohol level was found to be 0.2% – about 2.5 times the legal limit and the equivalent of consuming 10 drinks an hour.
However, researchers at the Richmond University Medical Center in New York eventually discovered that the man was telling the truth. He was not downing beers or cocktails – instead, there was yeast in his gut that was likely converting carbohydrates in the food he ate to alcohol.
In other words, his body can be said to be brewing beer.
The findings were reported in a study in BMJ Open Gastroenterology. It was revealed that the man had a rarely diagnosed medical condition called auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), also known as gut fermentation syndrome.
Gut fermentation syndrome occurs when yeast in the gastrointestinal tract causes the body to convert carbohydrates ingested through food into alcohol. The process typically takes place in the upper GI tract, which includes the stomach and the first part of the small intestine.
Culled from CNN
