BAC % High for a Few Drinks? My Body Produced Alcohol is a Real DUI Defense !It is quite amazing what the human body can do. In a new twist on DUI’s, it turns out, some peoples’ bodies can even manufacture their own alcohol. Say what? A New York Judge recently dismissed a DUI case against a woman who spent $7,000.00 to pay a specialist to show her body sometimes makes its own alcohol. In fact, the people who suffer from this condition can sometimes end up very intoxicated and way over the legal limit and not have had anything to drink.It is called Auto-Brewery Syndrome or gut fermentation syndrome. It is a rare condition, but it appears to be real. It is All About That Yeast… and That Sugar… And The Fermentation! The people who suffer from it have a particular type of yeast in their digestive system. When that yeast mixes with carbohydrates or sugar, it can produce ethyl alcohol or ethanol, drinking alcohol, the same stuff found in beer, wine, booze, etc.Treatment include taking an anti-fungal medication and changing your diet. Apparently, it can create a lot of alcohol.
The woman in the New York case had a BAC or blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.33% when she was tested. That is over four times the legal limit. Most people would be unconscious from that high a BAC and some would suffer alcohol poisoning and possibly death.But, the people with this syndrome often build up a very high tolerance to alcohol because their own body is getting them sloshed periodically. Much like a functioning alcoholic who goes to work everyday after there morning whiskey in coffees or Vodka in orange juice, their body adjusts to high levels of alcohol on a regular basis. This syndrome has led to many people being falsely accused of drinking at work, DUI’s or being alcoholics. That’s because, whether you drink the alcohol or your body produces it, once it is in your blood stream, it has the exact same effects, slurred speech, poor coordination, bad judgment and all the other effects of being intoxicated can have.This situation is similar to diabetics whose bodies, when they are in a certain phase, can produce isopropyl alcohol. Again, it is the relationship of the body and how it deals with or metabolizes sugar.
You can read more about it in Wikipedia, and we at www.SanDiegoDefenders.com will try to keep you informed.
