Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren volabamb here. Alcohol is a complicated substance. It's used in celebrations and ceremonies and is a drug that we should all handle responsibly, and in the case of a select few of us, we brew it in our own guts. Wait what, Yes, it's true. Some people brew alcohol in their own bellies, and it's really not as
convenient as it might sound. People with this condition have been arrested for unknowingly driving under the influence of alcohol, and have been accused by family members and medical professionals of being closet drinkers. The condition is called auto brewery syndrome or gut fermentation syndrome. For people who have it, the simple act of eating carb rich foods I think bagels, pasta, or sugary sodas kicks off a series of unfortunate guests
intestinal events that result in elevated blood alcohol levels. In most humans, our gastrointestinal system will ferment tiny levels of ethanol during the course of normal digestion due to the normal yeasts and bacteria in our guts that eat carbohydrates and excrete alcohol. But for people with auto brewery syndrome, one or several of these usually harmless microorganisms has overgrown
to the point that they're basically pathogenic. They create so much ethanol that the person can have the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication even if they haven't ingested a single drop. Although rare, autobrewery syndrome affects both adults and children and is thought to be widely undiagnosed. As a result, people experience side effects that are chalked up to other maladies, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel, or memory loss.
They experience life through a belching, dizzy lens and researchers aren't entirely sure why this happens. It's definitely an imbalance in the patient's gut, oral or urinary microbiome and or microbiome, depending on whether you're talking about bacteria or yeasts, but those in themselves are really complicated parts of our health
that aren't entirely understood. There is evidence that having underlying conditions like various gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, liver dysfunction, or genetic differences in how your digestive enzymes operate might make you more likely to experience auto brewery syndrome, but the only two factors that have been really definitively linked to it are the use of antibiotics, which can kill off the normal and even helpful bacteria in our microbiome, and the
consumption of carbohydrates and sugars. The condition was first reported in Japan in nineteen fifty two, but wasn't formally named until nineteen ninety. To diagnose autobrewery syndrome, patients will be given a physical and a few lab tests, including stool and or endoscopy cultures for the bacteria and fungi known to be culprits. Patients are also often isolated for a period of time and given high carb, high sugar foods to eat. If their blood alcohol levels rise, auto brewery
syndrome may be what's happening. With a diagnosis, patients are treated for whatever yeast or bacterial overgrowth has been detected and encouraged to go on a high protein, low carb diet until their symptoms resolve. With help from a nutritionist and avoidance of antibiotics, patients can manage the condition and avoid relapses. Though some patients have had the best long term luck after fecal microbiotic transplants, in which a healthy donor's poop is used to help you grow your own
healthy microbiome. Today's episode is based on the article The Curse of Brewing Beer in your Own Belly on howstifforks dot com, written by Lorel Dove. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with hostfforks dot com and is produced by Time They're Clang. Four more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.