The Doctors: Getting Drunk Without Alcohol?
The Doctors shared the story of a man who is “getting drunk without ever taking a drink.”
The man, named Nick, explained that he’s always been an athlete and tried to stay physically fit as much as he possibly could. He began having stomach problems three and a half years ago. He said he would wake up in the morning and just start throwing up. He explained that he would have instances where he would feel really lethargic, stumble around, slur his speech, and feel very confused. He said he felt drunk, but hadn’t be drinking.
The Doctors took a closer look at the story of a man who was experiencing drunk-like symptoms without even taking a sip of alcohol. (Grzegorz Petrykowski / Shutterstock.com)
Nick said he started videotaping himself because he didn’t believe it. The video shows him trying to talk and slurring his words. He said he would look at the tapes afterward and his “heart would hit the floor” because he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Nick explained that he was in an accident with a bunch of college students and when the officer had him blow through a Breathalyzer, it came back with a .236, which is three times the legal limit in Ohio. He explained that even the officer was stunned, saying he shouldn’t be functioning with that much alcohol in his system, and that’s when he told the officer he hadn’t had anything to drink.
The Drs TV: What Is Auto-Brewery Syndrome?
After Nick was arrested, he spent years seeing numerous doctors for the mysterious condition. A lot of them thought he was just a closeted alcoholic. Finally, he was referred to Dr. Anup Kanodia, a systems medicine specialist. Dr. Kanodia recommended a test to look at the DNA culture of a stool. Dr. Kanodia said the test showed that he had 400% higher than the normal amount of yeast in his body, a condition referred to as Auto-Brewery Syndrome.
Auto-Brewery Syndrome is when someone has so much yeast, it’s fermenting and actually making alcohol in your body. Dr. Kanodia explained that the condition is very serious and can actually cause death. So what they had to do to help Nick was to put him on a plan to get him healthy. Anything that breaks down into sugar, they had to take out of his diet, because sugar breeds yeast.
They had to change his diet to a high-protein, high vegetable nutrition plan, and Nick said “the effects are phenomenal.” He said a subtle diet change has been remarkable in his process.
Dr. Travis Stork confessed that he had never heard of Auto-Brewery Syndrome, but said it makes sense if your gut is fermenting sugar into alcohol.
The Doctors: Yeast Overgrowth In The Body
Dr. Jim Sears shared that he actually had a patient who had an overgrowth of yeast in his gut and was experiencing autistic-like problems. Dr. Jennifer Ashton said that what she loved about this story was that it really shows the brilliant diagnostic work of one doctor who can think unconventionally and piece together a “medical mystery.”
Dr. Rachael Ross explained that if you have a yeast overgrowth in your body, there are a lot of issues that can arise, including bacterial vaginosis.
One of the causes of yeast overgrowth is the overuse of antibiotics. Nick actually joined The Doctors on the phone, and he shared that he had tried to jump through all the hoops that they could medically, and they just didn’t have any answers. He said Dr. Kanodia was sort of their last resort and was close to accepting the fact that he was going to have to live like that for the rest of his life.
Nick said he did a strict diet change that includes a lot of grass fed healthy proteins like fresh cut beef, fish and seafood, and nothing that was farm-raised, as well as a lot of leafy-green vegetables. “One more reason to watch your carbs!” Dr. Stork said.
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