4 ms·

Auto-Brewery Syndrome: Apparently, You Can Make Beer In Your Gut

70 points by Hoff 13y ago

coldcode 13y ago
But sadly it doesn't taste very good.
adamio 13y ago
This man is the human equivalent of a civet. Bottle this beer and someone would buy it
- FuzzyDunlop 13y ago
  There are many 'beers' in existence which, for all that they taste like, might as well be the product of a human civet.
- pyre 13y ago
  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.
bitwize 13y ago
And every college bro says "dude, if that's being sick, I don't want to be well!"
coldarchon 13y ago
How is that news? In the 70s car drivers in Japan were found to be drunk although they had not have a beer or alike. Thats how they found out some Asian people are missing a gene to disintegrate alcohol. They had an infection in their gut that produced alcohol which accumulated because of their incapability to disintegrate and therefor were found DUI ..
jlgreco 13y ago
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...
- nullp 13y ago
  Taken further, if this can be induce and cured there's a great product to be had. Might end up with super-yeast though.
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  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.
  - dhughes 13y ago
    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.
    - freiheit 13y ago
      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.
crazygringo 13y ago
Would taking antibiotics again, clear it out?
- 127001brewer 13y ago
  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)
- Coincoin 13y ago
  No! On the contrary. Killing all the bacteria makes the yeasts take over as they have no more competition.
- ars 13y ago
  You would need an antifungal, not antibiotic. Antifungals exist, but don't work great since, unlike bacteria, fungi (like yeast) have cell structures similar to humans. The best would be to eat a lot of probiotics, and low carbs.
127001brewer 13y ago
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 13y ago
  See the blog: Auto Brewery Syndrome from Yeast (Candida) Overgrowth http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-syndrome-from-yeast-overgrowth/ http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-syndro... and the links there. It's true.
  - 127001brewer 13y ago
    Obviously I've never heard of "Candida" before even though I recently linked to a Wikipedia article about it - thanks for the reference!
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  You don't have to get it from drinking beer - consider the frequency of yeast infections among women, which is not correlated with employment at breweries or bakeries.
- gisenberg 13y ago
  Per the referenced link, a package of fresh beer yeast contains about one hundred billion cells.
gngeal 13y ago
Imagine a die-hard abstinent (religious or otherwise) getting this. A Mormon version of hell on Earth?
- X4 13y ago
  hahaha you're so evil, with 999 persons having thought this, you say it publicly.
ChuckMcM 13y ago
Wow, adds a whole new dimension to the complaint "I've got a yeast infection" doesn't it?
- harrytuttle 13y ago
  Indeed. Creaming that would be a bastard though :)
joelle 13y ago
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 :)
gojomo 13y ago
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.
dexen 13y ago
Not only humans are affected: http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-imbibing-animals-2013-9 http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-imbibing-animals-2013...

70 points by Hoff 13y ago

coldcode 13y ago

But sadly it doesn't taste very good.

adamio 13y ago

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

FuzzyDunlop 13y ago
There are many 'beers' in existence which, for all that they taste like, might as well be the product of a human civet.
pyre 13y ago
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.

bitwize 13y ago

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

coldarchon 13y ago

How is that news? In the 70s car drivers in Japan were found to be drunk although they had not have a beer or alike. Thats how they found out some Asian people are missing a gene to disintegrate alcohol. They had an infection in their gut that produced alcohol which accumulated because of their incapability to disintegrate and therefor were found DUI ..

jlgreco 13y ago

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...

nullp 13y ago
Taken further, if this can be induce and cured there's a great product to be had. Might end up with super-yeast though.
anigbrowl 13y ago
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.
- dhughes 13y ago
  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.
  - freiheit 13y ago
    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.

crazygringo 13y ago

Would taking antibiotics again, clear it out?

127001brewer 13y ago
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)
Coincoin 13y ago
No! On the contrary. Killing all the bacteria makes the yeasts take over as they have no more competition.
ars 13y ago
You would need an antifungal, not antibiotic. Antifungals exist, but don't work great since, unlike bacteria, fungi (like yeast) have cell structures similar to humans. The best would be to eat a lot of probiotics, and low carbs.

127001brewer 13y ago

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 13y ago
See the blog: Auto Brewery Syndrome from Yeast (Candida) Overgrowth http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-syndrome-from-yeast-overgrowth/ http://www.mytummytantrum.com/2012/09/08/auto-brewery-syndro... and the links there. It's true.
- 127001brewer 13y ago
  Obviously I've never heard of "Candida" before even though I recently linked to a Wikipedia article about it - thanks for the reference!
anigbrowl 13y ago
You don't have to get it from drinking beer - consider the frequency of yeast infections among women, which is not correlated with employment at breweries or bakeries.
gisenberg 13y ago
Per the referenced link, a package of fresh beer yeast contains about one hundred billion cells.

gngeal 13y ago

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

X4 13y ago
hahaha you're so evil, with 999 persons having thought this, you say it publicly.

ChuckMcM 13y ago

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

harrytuttle 13y ago
Indeed. Creaming that would be a bastard though :)

joelle 13y ago

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 :)

gojomo 13y ago

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.

dexen 13y ago

Not only humans are affected: http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-imbibing-animals-2013-9 http://www.businessinsider.com/alcohol-imbibing-animals-2013...