what is this phenomenon where the digestive system naturally produces alcohol?

A Belgian driver, prosecuted before the Bruges police court for repeated drunken driving, was acquitted on Monday, having been able to prove that he suffered from a very rare syndrome of alcoholic “self-fermentation”.

A Belgian motorist prosecuted for drunkenness, even though he had not been drinking, has just been released on medical grounds. He is in fact suffering from a very rare syndrome: the auto-brewery phenomenon. This 40-year-old man found himself on Monday April 22 before the Bruges police court for drunk driving, although he claimed not to have drunk a single drop of alcohol.

Three doctors allowed him to prove in court that he was in fact suffering from “intestinal fermentation syndrome” which is also called “auto-brewery syndrome”. With this syndrome, even without consuming alcohol, the digestive system naturally produces ethanol following the fermentation of carbohydrate-rich foods. In some cases, blood alcohol levels can rise to three or four grams per liter, which is the equivalent of drinking three bottles of wine.

Why does the digestive system start producing this alcohol? In light of a few dozen cases reported around the world over the past 50 years, doctors put forward several explanations. The first consists of an imbalance of the intestinal microbiota with the presence of particular bacteria, yeasts or fungi which promote excess fermentation. This can sometimes follow poorly tolerated medical treatment. Another explanation is the possibility that underlying diseases, such as diabetes, or Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract, can promote this phenomenon.

The Belgian patient in question is now following a low-carbohydrate diet, to limit the consequences of this alcoholic self-fermentation which, in addition to the state of intoxication, has harmful consequences for the liver. This story once again demonstrates the very strong influence of our microbiota on health and certain very personal characteristics!

The role of the intestinal microbiota

Our microbiota, the kilo of bacteria, fungi, viruses that inhabit our intestines is specific to us and plays an important role, well beyond digestion. It can thus influence sleep, mood, weight, or certain diseases, including brain diseases. These mechanisms are still poorly understood, and this is why several French research institutes, including Inserm, have undertaken to map the intestinal bacteria of 100,000 French people. Some 24,000 French people have already registered for this participatory research program and it is still possible to do so. To participate: all the details can be found on lefrenchgut.fr.