Can you get drunk while never drinking alcohol? Well, actually, you kind of can in some cases. I’m Abby Sharp, you know, B s dietitian. And at first even I thought this news headline was B s. But basically it covered a woman whose gut was producing so much alcohol that she got drunk, leading to her getting diagnosed with a rare condition called auto brewery syndrome. So naturally, I did some digging. Now, this happens when there is an imbalance of bacteria in the gut, specifically of the Saccharomyces and Candida genera. Now, these are fermenting bacteria, and they readily convert carbohydrates into ethanol, aka alcohol. Now, in auto brewery syndrome, most of the carbohydrates ingested get converted into alcohol, which is then absorbed by the body and can make a person tipsy or even very drunk. Obviously, this condition has huge implications physically, legally, socially, you name it. And we’re really just still in the early stages of learning more about it. So how does someone even develop this condition? Well, we don’t actually know, but there are several risk factors that we do know of. A lot of this is linked to dysbiosis and potentially multiple rounds of antibiotics, which is when it’s very easy for certain gut bacteria to then overpopulate, which then makes the treatment make a lot of sense because we’re seeing a lot of probiotics playing a big role. Fungicides and a very low carbohydrate diet are also important, especially in the acute Phase when we want to stop the alcohol production. But truly my heart goes out to anyone who suffered with this condition. I can only imagine how psychologically draining it must feel when you’re seeking treatment and feeling gaslit in the process. But anyways, this is a super fascinating case study for me. So let me know your thoughts below.