Auto-brewery syndrome: The condition where everything you eat gets you drunk | Tech News [Video]

A Belgian brewery worker recently found out he has an extremely rare condition where his body produces alcohol from the food he eats.

Known as auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), the condition causes carbohydrates in the stomach to be fermented, and increases ethanol levels in the blood.

The 40-year-old had been prosecuted in Bruges, Belgium, for repeated drink-driving, but was acquitted on April 22 after several doctors visits revealed he had ABS. 

He was tested twice in April 2022. He was found to be four times over the legal limit for Belgium and the second time he was more than three times over.

The man, who was already sentenced in 2019 to a fine and suspension of his driving license for the same reasons, had protested his innocence, saying he had not drunk and was unaware of his condition. 

Auto-brewery syndrome – or gut fermentation syndrome – is also known as ‘drunkenness disease’, which makes …