Euphoria, flushed skin, balance problems and nausea are symptoms that might be associated with a binge. It is the so-called “self-distillation syndrome”.
Auto-distillation syndrome causes an excessive increase of yeast in the intestine, transforming it into excess alcohol. Photo: Shutterstock.
Euphoria, skin flushing, balance problems, nausea… Symptoms that might be associated with a drunkenness, but that, in some people, manifest themselves without having ingested a single drop of alcohol. It’s called “syndrome self-distillation».
On May 23, the Hyogo Prefectural Police (Japan) arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of drunk driving. However, at the time of the arrest, the man claimed that when he tensed up, his body produced alcohol.
The apparent excuse might have a medical explanation. Despite being a rare condition, the «syndrome of self-distillation» has several documented cases in the world. In 2014, an American was able to convert the sugars he ate into alcohol.
The process, which is also known as “intestinal fermentation”, is caused by “Saccharomyces cerevisiae”, a unicellular fungus and a type of yeast used in making bread, beer, and wine.
However, it is also present in our body, producing in some people high amounts of ethanol through an endogenous fermentation in the system digestive.
In an interview, Gonzalo Guerra Flecha, a specialist in Digestive of the Medical-Surgical Center for Digestive Diseases (CMED), claimed that “only regarding a hundred people worldwide” suffered from this syndrome.
Las diets high in carbohydrates they might trigger the condition more acutely; hence some people may feel drunk just from eating.
There is no cure at the moment. The most common treatment is to eliminate from the diet as many foods rich in sugar as possible to prevent their conversion into alcohol.