Cordell and McCarthy tested the theory on the Texas patient, keeping him in a hospital room for 24 hours and giving him heavy helpings of carb-rich foods.
Essentially, they found a common yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae was building up in his intestinal tract. In turn, the yeast caused starch to ferment sugar -- ultimately producing ethanol.
The Texas patient's stomach had become a micro-brewery, basically distilling booze from starchy foods like bagels and pasta.
"He would get drunk out of the blue on a Sunday morning after being at church, or really, just anytime," Cordell, dean of nursing at Panola College in Texas tells NPR. "His wife was so dismayed about it that she even bought a Breathalyzer."
The prescription?
A low carb diet and plenty of anti-fungals reportedly kept the man's intestines clean and sober.
The Krink said
1:05 AM, 09/21/13
My bro-in-law called me one night late and had the question of what the "highest blood/alcohol" reading of someone that "lived". I said my computer is turn-off right now and I would get back to him. Well I was curious about the question so "I looked it-up". Thats how you find answers to life's questions today...punch in your question in a "search-box" and press "enter". So I was pretty amazed how far some have taken "alcohol". I like "pleasantly plastered" personally but others with different horoscopes can go where no man/woman has gone before with "drink". All legal mind you. No red-tape buying alcohol.
When a Texas man reportedly staggered into a local hospital, complaining of dizziness, staff made the rather obvious conclusion.
They gave him a Breathalyzer test.
And sure enough, the 61-year-old appeared to confirm their suspicions. He blew .37 -- nearly five times the legal limit in Texas.
Diagnosis: Drunk.
The only trouble is the patient claimed he hadn't drank a drop all day.
The re-diagnosis? Gut fermentation syndrome, also known as auto-brewery syndrome.
In a paper published earlier this year in Scientific Research Publishing, U.S. researchers Barbara Cordell and Justin McCarthy call it a "relatively unknown phenomenon in modern medicine."
Cordell and McCarthy tested the theory on the Texas patient, keeping him in a hospital room for 24 hours and giving him heavy helpings of carb-rich foods.
Essentially, they found a common yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae was building up in his intestinal tract. In turn, the yeast caused starch to ferment sugar -- ultimately producing ethanol.
The Texas patient's stomach had become a micro-brewery, basically distilling booze from starchy foods like bagels and pasta.
"He would get drunk out of the blue on a Sunday morning after being at church, or really, just anytime," Cordell, dean of nursing at Panola College in Texas tells NPR. "His wife was so dismayed about it that she even bought a Breathalyzer."
The prescription?
A low carb diet and plenty of anti-fungals reportedly kept the man's intestines clean and sober.
My bro-in-law called me one night late and had the question of what the
"highest blood/alcohol" reading of someone that "lived". I said my computer
is turn-off right now and I would get back to him. Well I was curious about
the question so "I looked it-up". Thats how you find answers to life's
questions today...punch in your question in a "search-box" and press
"enter". So I was pretty amazed how far some have taken "alcohol".
I like "pleasantly plastered" personally but others with different horoscopes
can go where no man/woman has gone before with "drink". All legal
mind you. No red-tape buying alcohol.
Eight of the Highest Blood Alcohol Levels of All Time
-- Edited by The Krink on Saturday 21st of September 2013 01:06:53 AM