
Auto-Brewery Syndrome: Apparently, You Can Make Beer In Your Gut - Hoff
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/09/17/223345977/auto-brewery-syndrome-apparently-you-can-make-beer-in-your-gut
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jlgreco
I wonder if it would be possible to, for a price, purposely induce this this
in alcoholics who are anticipating a prolonged prison sentence.

Probably the most unethical idea I've had all week...

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anigbrowl
Conversely, suppose this condition is more common than generally appreciated
(because it does seem a lot simpler to assume someone is an alcoholic who's
being dishonest about the incidence/frequency of their drinking). Could it be
that a certain proportion of crime or irresponsible behavior is actually the
product of involuntary drunkenness?

On a related note, for a few years now I've been trying to think of a way to
organize a clinical survey of _Toxoplama Gondii_ (a parasite transmissible
from cats to humans that results in inxreased risk-taking behavior) in prison
inmates. While it's true that a lot of criminals are in fact Bad People, I
think we have drastically underestimated the impact on criminality of
environmental factors like poor diet, parasites and so on.

TL;DR a lot of crime may turn out to be a public health problem.

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dhughes
My guess is an alcoholic person would be less susceptible since they drink
more alcohol than the average person, alcohol being the waste product of yeast
would make for a bad environment.

In a person who doesn't drink much the stomach environment would be better
since I am picturing the waste going downward towards the gut leaving the
yeast to live in peace.

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freiheit
The concentrations of alcohol in beer or wine don't kill yeast, though. The
yeast go into a sort of hibernation phase and can be roused with the return of
a more favorable environment. With much beer and wine making, the alcohol
doesn't even reach that level; the yeast simply eat everything they're capable
of digesting and then hibernate.

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127001brewer
_In most instances, the infections occurred after a person took antibiotics —
which can wipe out the bacteria in the gut, making room for fungi like yeast
to flourish ..._

While the above is very plausible, it is rather unbelievable that a person
could have enough Brewer's Yeast and fermentable material in their gut (or
intestinal tract) to produce a significant amount of ethanol.

As a reference, packages of fresh beer yeast contain about one billion cells,
which is enough to inoculate five gallons of wort.[1] (Wort is pre-fermented
beer.)

1\.
[http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16](http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16)

~~~
MaysonL
See the blog: Auto Brewery Syndrome from Yeast (Candida) Overgrowth
[http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-
syndro...](http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-syndrome-
from-yeast-overgrowth/)

and the links there. It's true.

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127001brewer
Obviously I've never heard of "Candida" before even though I recently linked
to a Wikipedia article about it - thanks for the reference!

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ChuckMcM
Wow, adds a whole new dimension to the complaint "I've got a yeast infection"
doesn't it?

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harrytuttle
Indeed. Creaming that would be a bastard though :)

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gngeal
Imagine a die-hard abstinent (religious or otherwise) getting this. A Mormon
version of hell on Earth?

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X4
hahaha you're so evil, with 999 persons having thought this, you say it
publicly.

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adamio
This man is the human equivalent of a civet. Bottle this beer and someone
would buy it

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pyre
And then there would be an industry for it, which would create perverse
incentives to create slave humans in other countries or employ thousands of
animals living out their lives in cages just to produce an "odd" beer that
people are willing to pay top dollar for to get wasted.

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dexen
Not only humans are affected: [http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-
imbibing-animals-2013...](http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-imbibing-
animals-2013-9)

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joelle
Wow - I've never heard of anything like this before. Pretty incredible what
can happen in the body sometimes! It doesn't sound half bad though... getting
drunk on a big bowl of spaghetti :)

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crazygringo
Would taking antibiotics again, clear it out?

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127001brewer
No, because...

 _Antibiotics promote yeast infections, including gastrointestinal Candida
overgrowth, and penetration of the GI mucosa.[11] While women are more
susceptible to genital yeast infections, men can in fact get them as well.
Certain factors, like prolonged antibiotic use, increase the risk for both men
and women. ..._ [1]

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_(fungus)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_\(fungus\))

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gojomo
I recall reading, perhaps 20 years ago, of a case in Japan where a man showed
drunkeness/detectable-blood-alcohol without drinking alcoholic beverages. In
that popular account, it was attributed to an intestinal strain of _e coli_
creating alcohol, and a genetic difference (more common in Asia and among
Native Americans) that interferes with alcohol-breakdown.

Yeast seems even more likely a culprit, and I see the references in this case
study detail Japanese cases/research back to the 1970s.

This newest case study does not mention the 61-year-old male's race... but if
of Asian or Native American descent, or maybe even if not, they should have
also checked his genetically-influenced ability to metabolize alcohol.

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coldcode
But sadly it doesn't taste very good.

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bitwize
And every college bro says "dude, if that's being sick, I don't want to be
well!"

