California residents may be interested in learning about a condition that can, in essence, turn the human body into a brewery. Doctors were working with a patient who constantly had elevated blood alcohol levels. However, the patient denied ever drinking alcohol. Research led to the discovery of a condition known as auto brewery syndrome, or ABS. This condition leaves the body’s gastrointestinal system to turn carbohydrates that are ingested into alcohol.
The man who was in the aforementioned study was healthy and had no other medical conditions. Out of nowhere, he started to lose his memory, have bouts of depression and have changes in his mental state. All of these changes linked to back to him taking antibiotics for a thumb injury that he had.
A few years later, he was arrested under suspicion of driving while under the influence. He had a blood alcohol level of .20 g/daL, which is above and beyond the legal limit of .08. The hospital staff and law enforcement did not believe the man when he said that he did not have any alcohol to drink that day. He wasn’t able to function, and he claimed that the symptoms would appear after he ate.
Doctors were able to diagnose the man with ABS after giving him a carbohydrate-heavy meal and then monitoring his blood alcohol levels. Within eight hours of eating, this man’s blood alcohol levels shot up to .05 g/daL. In his body was found yeast that brewers use when brewing alcohol.
When a person is pulled over and arrested for driving while under the influence, law enforcement may administer a number of sobriety tests. A criminal defense attorney may work with their client to determine the validity of the tests that law enforcement performed. The attorney may investigate other circumstances and evidence that indicate the accused individual was not intoxicated while behind the wheel.
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed
