Extreme Microbe Brewing: the Curse of Auto-Brewery Syndrome

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Extreme Microbe Brewing: the Curse of Auto-Brewery Syndrome

Posted by timothy on Friday September 20, 2013 @05:18PM from the certainly-not-what-I-want-my-gut-to-do dept.

An anonymous reader writes with a story excerpt that may inspire envy in some readers: "Most beer guts are the result of consuming fermented brew, but a new case study describes a rare syndrome that had one man's gut fermenting brew, not consuming it. It's called gut fermentation syndrome or auto-brewery syndrome, and it's 'a relatively unknown phenomenon in Western medicine' according to a study published in July's International Journal of Clinical Medicine. 'Only a few cases have been reported in the last three decades' according to Dr. Barbara Cordell, the dean of nursing at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, and Dr. Justin McCarthy, a Lubbock gastroenterologist, the study's authors." (More at NPR.)

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Futurama did it! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 17:22 · Score: 5, Informative

Futuramas Bender already did it!
Latest Craze on Campus by cervesaebraciator · 2013-09-20 17:23 · Score: 1

Funnel this.
1. Re:Latest Craze on Campus by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 17:28 · Score: 0
  
  Jesus, that yeast is aggressive. Much more potent than the montrachet yeast I usually use.
Futurama did it! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 17:24 · Score: 0

Bender on Futurama already did it and it is common place in the future!
How did Fark get /.'s CSS? by pla · 2013-09-20 17:37 · Score: 0

Okay, I'll admit this appeals to my interests, but seriously? This belongs on Fark, not Slashdot.

WTF, editors?
Don't elephants do this normally? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 17:40 · Score: 0

Isn't it normal for an elephant to do this? Not so nice for a man. TFA isn't talking about a nice buzz here. They're talking 0.3 to 0.4 BAC. That's alcohol poisoning and one helluva hangover.
1. Re:Don't elephants do this normally? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 04:06 · Score: 0
  
  As I personally experienced a minor case of this after eating large quantities of high yeast bread, I wouldn't be quick to dismiss it. Yeast overgrowth also gave me chronic fatigue syndrome.
guess.. by no-body · 2013-09-20 17:42 · Score: 2

it's not the gut but the critters living in the gut. Lactic acid bacteria can ferment starch into alcohol and so can yeasts. Seems the gut flora needs to be way out of balance to get one drunk.
1. Re:guess.. by cervesaebraciator · 2013-09-20 17:45 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Seems the gut flora needs to be way out of balance to get one drunk.
  The NPR article noted it occurring after taking antibiotics.
2. Re:guess.. by Solandri · 2013-09-20 18:45 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Different species of bacteria in your gut form competitive colonies. Antibiotics can wipe out the dominant species, allowing a different species to gain dominance and inhibit the previous dominant species from regaining its original population. Several years ago, my doctor diagnosed my constant stomachaches and vomiting as being caused by a certain type of bacteria which had colonized my stomach. He put me on a treatment of strong antibiotics to wipe them out and allow a more benign gut bacteria to take over. My symptoms went away after the treatment.
  
  Similar things have happened on a macro scale. It's suspected the cod fishery off New England has suffered such a fate after severe overfishing led to its collapse in the 1990s. There have been draconian limits on commercial cod catches for two decades, but no rebound in the cod population. It's suspected that capelin have now taken over as the dominant species in that ecosystem. Capelin used to be eaten by the larger cod. But when overfishing decimated the cod stocks, the capelin were able to grow both in size and population. The theory is the tables have turned now and the capelin are eating the juvenile cod, preventing the cod from reaching the size and numbers which would threaten the dominance of the capelin.
3. Re:guess.. by Hognoxious · 2013-09-20 19:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  The solution is obvious. Do capelin go better with white wine or red?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
4. Re:guess.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 20:14 · Score: 0
  
  No, no! That's wrong. You need to introduce a new species that doesn't feed on cod, but likes capelin.
5. Re:guess.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 20:56 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah... that new species is Humans...
6. Re:guess.. by El+Puerco+Loco · 2013-09-20 23:59 · Score: 2
  
  The average person produces around 30ml of pure ethanol endogenously every day. Alcohol dehydrogenases exist for a reason.
7. Re:guess.. by jones_supa · 2013-09-21 00:41 · Score: 2
  
  While I was looking for a citation, I found that if I look into Wikipedia I get differing results. It says there that the amount of ethanol produced by the body is about 3g per day. Now if we look up the density of ethanol, we find that it is 0.789 g/cm^3 (cm^3 = ml). By plugging in the numbers, 3g / 0.789g/ml gives me 3.8ml.
8. Re:guess.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 05:30 · Score: 0
  
  Several years ago, my doctor diagnosed my constant stomachaches and vomiting as being caused by a certain type of bacteria which had colonized my stomach. He put me on a treatment of strong antibiotics to wipe them out and allow a more benign gut bacteria to take over. My symptoms went away after the treatment.
  
  It's great that you recovered! Because, if you needed to replenish yourself with healthy gut-bacteria.... Well, they tell you to go Eat Shit.
  Healthy human feces that is... I hear folks are developing capsules containing the bacteria required so that folks don't have to "Eat Shit or Die."
9. Re:guess.. by FauxReal · 2013-09-21 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  They also do poo transplants. Feca Bacteriotherapy
  
  --
  Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
10. Re:guess.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:32 · Score: 0
  
  I prefer colonic smoking to colonic drinking.
11. Re:guess.. by manu0601 · 2013-09-21 14:09 · Score: 1
  
  Several years ago, my doctor diagnosed my constant stomachaches and vomiting as being caused by a certain type of bacteria which had colonized my stomach
  Helicobacter pylori? It manages to prevent your stomach from producing acidity, making the place nice for him. Unfortunately that impairs your digestion a lot, favoring allergies (because of proteins that pass through intact), and other pathogen proliferation in the gut (because they are not killed in stomach).
12. Re:guess.. by Hognoxious · 2013-09-25 21:40 · Score: 1
  
  Those monkeys? They're a passing fad, I tell you. A couple of eons from now nobody will even remember them.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Real life X-man by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 17:46 · Score: 0

Most. Awesome. Superpower. Evar!!!!
Does he fight crime with this somehow?
Flight, invisibility, or beer auto generation: which would you choose?
Beer bellies not related to beer by dutchwhizzman · 2013-09-20 17:48 · Score: 3, Informative

There is no causation between beer consumption and a "beer gut". People should keep urban myths like this out of "scientific" oriented texts so people might actually learn the truth. Beer guts exist because people exercise less than they should and have a diet that doesn't match their metabolism and activity pattern. The fact that beer often is part of that diet is a correlation at best, but no causation.

--
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
1. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by cervesaebraciator · 2013-09-20 17:54 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  When living in Austria, I was introduced to a more accurate term for the beer gut: Backhendlfriedhof, i.e. fried-chicken graveyard.
2. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by yotto · 2013-09-20 17:55 · Score: 2
  
  There is no causation between beer consumption and a "beer gut".
  Other than that you're consuming hundreds of empty calories along with a drug that makes you want to sit around and do nothing...
  
  --
  Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
3. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by ThisIsSaei2561 · 2013-09-20 18:13 · Score: 1
  
  As well as lowering testosterone levels.
4. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · 2013-09-20 18:43 · Score: 2
  
  This. my BMI is 21, I exercise a lot, my belly is flat as a pancake, yet I drink at least 9 or 10 brown Belgian trappist beers per week (and those are loaded with alcohol at over 10 percent). I've been doing it for years too.
  
  --
  "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
5. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 19:26 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Wipe that self-righteous smirk off your face. You'll get older.
6. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by sumdumass · 2013-09-20 20:19 · Score: 1
  
  9 to 10 per week? Beer guts are usually associated with people who drink 9-10 beers a day or more. I got mine years ago when I generally drank a 12 pack a day. I was drinking a six pack before going bar hopping just to save a few bucks at the clubs. I can still consume a case of beer on a long day of drinking (24 beers) without much thought about it and not getting past a buzz.
  But I know people who drank that much or more who didn't have a beer gut so exercise, metabolism and probably a host of other things play along with it too. I just wouldn't be too proud or worried about 9-10 beers a week. You probably put more calories from soda into your body per week then with the beer.
7. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by dyingtolive · 2013-09-20 21:18 · Score: 1
  
  I do that in a day (okay, so with 8% beer). Hell, I've cut down to a beer a day and I've lost 15 lbs in a month before sitting on my ass. I know women who weigh about 100 lbs who drink more than you on a regular basis.
  
  --
  Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
8. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · 2013-09-20 21:21 · Score: 1
  
  What gives you the idea that I'm not already older? :)
  Hint: I was in my late 20s when I registered on /. You have my UID number, work it out.
  
  --
  "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
9. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · 2013-09-20 21:30 · Score: 1
  
  9 to 10 per week? Beer guts are usually associated with people who drink 9-10 beers a day or more. I got mine years ago when I generally drank a 12 pack a day.
  Wow, I don't know if I could survive that for more than 3 days. The most I ever drank on a regular basis was maybe 3 large strong beers and a quarter bottle of scotch a day, and I couldn't stand that for too long without gaining a ton of weight very quickly.
  
  --
  "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
10. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by WillKemp · 2013-09-20 22:43 · Score: 1
  
  There is no causation between beer consumption and a "beer gut".
  Citation please!
  I think you're almost certainly wrong (no citation, this is just informed opinion) - particularly when it comes to people who drink home brew or other beers that have a fair amount of live yeast in them. Part of a beer gut is intestinal irritation causing swelling - and that can be caused by yeast. Part of it is a swollen liver - caused by the alcohol. Probably only a relatively small proportion is fat.
11. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by WillKemp · 2013-09-20 22:50 · Score: 1
  
  What gives you the idea that I'm not already older? :)
  Hint: I was in my late 20s when I registered on /. You have my UID number, work it out.
  
  You're not very old then.
  When i was in my early 20s i was programming computers that loaded their stage 2 boot loaders off paper tape and their operating systems from punched cards. Slashdot was nearly 20 years away in those days.
12. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by drinkypoo · 2013-09-20 23:24 · Score: 2
  
  There is no causation between beer consumption and a "beer gut"
  There is no relation between your comment and the truth. Beer guts ain't fat, that's not how your body works. Fat is added to your whole body when you get fat, and it's removed from your whole body when you lose weight. Beer guts are enlarged, hardened livers, or fluid seeping into the belly from a cirrhotic liver.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
13. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by gl4ss · 2013-09-20 23:45 · Score: 1
  
  ..you do understand that 9-10 per week will barely put you in risk stats for alcohol consumption? (in english that means that you're not drinking that much of it at all).
  and still, you could easily calculate the calories to be quite a bit. you could just substitute them with kebabs and get some muscle, boy. it's not like you're getting drunk from that amount spread over the week anyways.
  oh and fkin hipster, hipsters don't get beer bellies to begin with. IPA got out of fashion?
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
14. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 23:56 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  When i was in my early 20s i was programming computers that loaded their stage 2 boot loaders off paper tape and their operating systems from punched cards. Slashdot was nearly 20 years away in those days.
  You spelled "GET OFF MY LAWN" wrong.
15. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Provocateur · 2013-09-21 00:12 · Score: 1
  
  People should keep urban myths like this out of "scientific" oriented texts
  I should break this out of its glass case marked In case of emergency
  You must be new here.
  
  --
  WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
16. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by stenvar · 2013-09-21 00:32 · Score: 1
  
  First, if you space it out evenly, that's 1.5 beers per day, not a huge number, and within the ballpark of what is generally considered OK or even slightly beneficial (one glass of wine/day). It's also a big question of how you consume it. Is it a drink with a meal? Are you getting drunk? Is the rest of your nutrition reasonable? Etc. Once you cross a threshold, though, the effects of alcohol on your waistline and health start being bad. Where that is depends on your metabolism. And alcohol consumption is significantly associated with abdominal fat ("beerbelly"), at least in men, and that's the most dangerous fat.
17. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by retchdog · 2013-09-21 00:49 · Score: 1
  
  Assuming you mean full pints of, say, barleywine or imperial stout, that can easily be alcohol-equivalent to ~7 12 oz. cans of standard 5% crap beer (12-packs are usually crap beer). The scotch gets you at least another 6. It works out about the same, apart from taste and price.
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
18. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by drinkypoo · 2013-09-21 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  We're not talking about large strong beers, usually. Most people who are drinking a 12 pack are drinking Meister Brau or something. My dad put away a case of shitty beer like Brew 102 (it was on sale at the Food & Liquor^W^W^WCheaper! for a long time) nightly for years. Yes, that is as lame as it sounds. Alcohol is a hell of a drug. I am lucky enough to not be an alcoholic. My response to waking up and finding out I did something stupid is not to try to drink away the stupid.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
19. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  Citation please!
  
  I think you're almost certainly wrong (no citation, this is just informed opinion) - particularly when it comes to people who drink home brew or other beers that have a fair amount of live yeast in them. Part of a beer gut is intestinal irritation causing swelling - and that can be caused by yeast. Part of it is a swollen liver - caused by the alcohol. Probably only a relatively small proportion is fat.
  WTF? You demand a citation, then spill a bunch of false information, I mean "informed opinions", with no citation at all. WebMD says you are totally wrong. It's fat.
20. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by __aaltlg1547 · 2013-09-21 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  It's part of the cause. There are 100 to 200 calories in a glass of beer, depending on the variety. Of course, that assumes the beer doesn't make you feel full and prevent you from eating an offsetting amount of food.
21. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by dfghjk · 2013-09-21 02:17 · Score: 1
  
  "Beer guts exist because people exercise less than they should and have a diet that doesn't match their metabolism and activity pattern."
  People should keep urban myths like this out of "scientific" oriented texts so people might actually learn the truth.
  Weight management isn't as simple as calories in vs. calories out. The problem with diets is not that they don't match "metabolism and activity pattern." It is "a correlation at best, but no causation."
22. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anne_Nonymous · 2013-09-21 02:32 · Score: 1
  
  >> I can still consume a case of beer on a long day of drinking (24 beers) without much thought about it and not getting past a buzz.
  Bud Light?
23. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by gordo3000 · 2013-09-21 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  while we are dispelling myths, it's good to not perpetuate the stupidity that just eating protein is somehow muscle building, and that eating more is a requirement to build large muscles.
24. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Mr.+Slippery · 2013-09-21 03:40 · Score: 2
  
  Beer guts ain't fat, that's not how your body works...Beer guts are enlarged, hardened livers
  Citation needed.
  "An excess of visceral fat is known as central obesity, the "pot belly" or "beer belly" effect, in which the abdomen protrudes excessively....A study has shown that alcohol consumption is directly associated with waist circumference and with a higher risk of abdominal obesity in men, but not in women, in the present population." -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_gut#Relationship_with_Alcohol_Consumption
  "Itâ(TM)s not necessarily beer but too many calories that can turn your trim waistline into a belly that protrudes over your pants. Any kind of calories -- whether from alcohol, sugary beverages, or oversized portions of food -- can increase belly fat. However, alcohol does seem to have a particular association with fat in the midsection." -- http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-beer-and-your-belly
  Yes, ascites is a real thing, but it's not what the term "beer belly" refers to.
  
  --
  Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
  You cannot wash away blood with blood
25. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Hognoxious · 2013-09-21 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  Beer guts are enlarged, hardened livers, or fluid seeping into the belly from a cirrhotic liver.
  
  Based on that amazing revelation plus observation of ale-swilling women I can only conclude that females have two livers, lower down and on the opposite side of the body.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
26. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Hognoxious · 2013-09-21 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  Weight management isn't as simple as calories in vs. calories out.
  
  Yes it is. There were no fatties at Auschwitz.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
27. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by RussR42 · 2013-09-21 06:36 · Score: 1
  
  I can still consume a case of beer on a long day of drinking (24 beers) without much thought about it and not getting past a buzz.
  Perhaps you should try real beer.
28. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 07:07 · Score: 0
  
  At 9 or 10 per week, you're a fucking light weight.
29. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by femtobyte · 2013-09-21 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps there was an unstated assumption in the definition of "weight management" in the post above yours, of "keeping one's weight down while maintaining a higher quality of life than a Nazi death camp inmate." For people who want to control their weight, while not feeling miserable and lethargic and excruciatingly famished all the time, there will be more to the process than "calories in vs. calories out" --- specifically, finding ways to achieve a good caloric in/out balance that do not result in misery (for which some food/activity combinations may be better than others).
30. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 08:26 · Score: 0
  
  Per week? Hahaha. You don't even do the 6 pack workout. Your average female bar regular drinks more than that.
31. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by russotto · 2013-09-21 10:32 · Score: 1
  
  For people who want to control their weight, while not feeling miserable and lethargic and excruciatingly famished all the time, there will be more to the process than "calories in vs. calories out"
  If you have those requirements, the problem is overspecified (that is, there is no solution which meets the requirements) for most people.
32. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by sumdumass · 2013-09-21 13:02 · Score: 1
  
  Usually, regular Budweiser but I also drink some of the bitter crap like Guinness Foreign Extra Stout with the same effects too.
  It doesn't really matter because it is the amount of time spent drinking not the alcohol content of the drink. When I say long day, I'm talking 12+ hours. Start at 11 or so in the AM and finish about 2 am like at the truck and tractor pulls or when smoking a hog or something.
33. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by WillKemp · 2013-09-21 14:11 · Score: 1
  
  WTF? You demand a citation, then spill a bunch of false information, I mean "informed opinions", with no citation at all. WebMD says you are totally wrong. It's fat.
  
  No citations there!
34. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by WillKemp · 2013-09-21 14:13 · Score: 1
  
  WTF? You demand a citation, then spill a bunch of false information, I mean "informed opinions", with no citation at all. WebMD says you are totally wrong. It's fat.
  It doesn't say anything of the kind.
35. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by Sardaukar86 · 2013-09-21 16:49 · Score: 1
  
  9 to 10 per week? Beer guts are usually associated with people who drink 9-10 beers a day or more.
  You're probably right. I'd would however be interested to see how specialist brews Roscoe P. Coltrane mentions compare against the 12-pack swill most people drink.
  Trappists are mighty beers; thicker, stronger-flavoured and highly alcoholic. I can drink three Carlsberg Elephants at 7.2% and feel little more than a mild buzz, but a single Rochforte 10 at ~11.2% reminds me I'm a lightweight real fast. Whether it puts on a beer pot faster than supermarket beer would be a worthy experiment to further the progress of Science.
  
  --
  ..Mullah or Pope, Preacher or Poet, who was it wrote: "Give any one species too much rope and they'll fuck it up"?
36. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by formfeed · 2013-09-21 18:25 · Score: 1
  
  There is no causation between beer consumption and a "beer gut".
  Other than that you're consuming hundreds of empty calories along with a drug that makes you want to sit around and do nothing...
  a drug that makes you want to sit around and do nothing?
  Hey, watch this...
37. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by nobodie · 2013-09-24 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  I had a brickmason who worked for me years ago. He no longer drank beer, but he would drick a six-pack or more of soda every day. He said that until he started drinkiong soda he didn't have the belly at all. When he worked for me he was so old and... swollen... that he would wash his boots every time he peed, just cause he couldn't see them. Probably hadn't seen his thingy in 20 years either. Stanley Roach, now I remember his name, he was an awesome brickmason, even in his 70s.
  
  --
  Subversion of spatial scale luxury decoration ideas.
38. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by nobodie · 2013-09-24 09:47 · Score: 1
  
  Boys, boys, when I was in my 20s they only had mainframes with punchcard machines. Now get off my lawn.
  
  --
  Subversion of spatial scale luxury decoration ideas.
39. Re:Beer bellies not related to beer by mcgrew · 2013-09-28 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  My response to waking up and finding out I did something stupid is not to try to drink away the stupid.
  Indeed, alcohol never raised anyone's IQ. "Drinking away the stupid" is like trying to cure a headache by banging your head against the wall.
  BTW, I just metamoderated you "insightful".
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
Eating beetle larvae for protein? No, to get drunk by G3ckoG33k · 2013-09-20 17:58 · Score: 5, Interesting

In Nigeria people have been eating beetle larvae for centuries. Anthropologists have explained this as a rich nutrient source which could help mankind in the future. Now it turns out the little buggers (weevils) have an ethanol-content of more than 6 %! So, food or protein my ass. Those Nigerians were just getting some cheap booze!
The authors, Ogbonda & Kiin-Kabari (2013, http://www.academicjournals.org/SRE/PDF/pdf2013/11Feb/Ogbonda%20and%20Kiin-Kabari.pdf) write "Result will help to explain the observed intoxicating (auto-brewery syndrome) property of the larva".
Life is fantastic.
Hangover??? by bobthesungeek76036 · 2013-09-20 18:14 · Score: 1

... The most current case comes courtesy of an unnamed 61-year-old Texas man who for five years seemed to be drunk -- all of the time...
Drunk for five years straight??? Must have been a hella of a hang over after being drunk that long!!!

--
Karma: Bad
1. Re:Hangover??? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 20:13 · Score: 1
  
  Not if he kept drinking water.
  A hangover is caused by dehydration.
  I have never had a hang over in my life, to be honest I have only been really drunk a few times of my life.
  But I tend to get thirsty from drinking alcohol, and instead of drinking more alcohol my body says to drink some water.
  If you drink a glass of water with each glass of alcohol it will be hard to get drunk and even harder to get a hangover.
  Also drink a glass of water when you go to bed, keep a bottle of water next to your bed, and drink a glass of water when you wake up.
2. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-20 20:24 · Score: 1
  
  Finally, I can plead the Americans with Disabilities act when I get a DUI.
  Interestingly, wouldn't federal law trump state law on this? I mean if someone is drunk due to a medical condition then a DUI would likely go against the ADA. Otherwise it would be like passing a law saying that people while licensed to drive, if they have a medical condition (lets say heart disease) can be incarcerated and fined for driving.
3. Re:Hangover??? by Zumbs · 2013-09-20 20:34 · Score: 1
  
  If you cannot drive safely in your current condition, you should not drive, and if you do you should be fined. Even if you do have a license. Naturally, this can depend on the medical condition. In some cases, it is highly unlikely that your ability to drive is impaired, in other cases, the condition can make it impossible to drive without being impaired (e.g. blindness). Some conditions are temporary, so it makes sense not to take away the drivers license when suffering from such conditions.
  
  --
  The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
4. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-20 20:41 · Score: 2
  
  Most drunk drivers can drive as well as most sober drivers when they get a DUI. The legal limits is really too low for someone who is accustom to drinking. Cops do things like paint white dots on the treads of tires on cars parked at or near bars then make something up to pull them over later when they see the streak rolling down the road. They also sit outside bars and watch people walking to their cars and pull over the people who display "drunken" behavior.
  A DUI is mostly about money and little more. There are groups who claim it is about safety and to them, it likely is, but to government and cops, it's a revenue thing.
5. Re:Hangover??? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 20:58 · Score: 0
  
  If you ever get pulled over for DUI, try bribing the cop. I think it'd go over well.
6. Re:Hangover??? by jamesh · 2013-09-20 22:04 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  A hangover is caused by dehydration.
  A hangover is caused by drinking alcohol. Being dehydrated is one of the contributing factors to a hangover, and probably the easiest to protect yourself against, but alcohol in excessive quantities is basically poison and if you overdo it you are going to get a hangover even if you keep yourself hydrated.
  Drinking more water probably means you end up drinking less alcohol too, which is probably a good thing
7. Re:Hangover??? by sjames · 2013-09-20 22:05 · Score: 1
  
  What if your current condition also impaired your ability to realize you were impaired and you had none of the usual external clues such as "I have been at a bar all night" or "I just killed a fifth".
  A stroke can severely impair your ability to drive but in some cases it also leaves you unaware that anything is wrong even when it is blindinglyu obvious to anyone watching you.
8. Re:Hangover??? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 22:20 · Score: 0
  
  Apt username is apt.
9. Re:Hangover??? by spottedkangaroo · 2013-09-20 22:40 · Score: 1
  
  You don't have to go far to see how false that is. Drinking water can help while you're hungover, but only rest can fix it. And no matter how hydrated you stay this chemical buildup is what's hurting you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangover#Acetaldehyde
  
  --
  Imagine if you weren't allowed to use roads because a bus company complained about your driving 3 times. --skunkpussy
10. Re:Hangover??? by jellomizer · 2013-09-20 23:04 · Score: 1
  
  Some != Most
  Some < Most
  Professional drivers can zoom down the Interstate at 120MPH safely. Most people can't that is why we have speed limits.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
11. Re:Hangover??? by WillKemp · 2013-09-20 23:05 · Score: 1
  
  A hangover is caused by dehydration.
  
  No it's not. A hangover is caused by ethanal poisoning. Ethanal (archaic name: acetaldehyde) is what your liver converts ethanol into - it converts that to ethanoic acid (archaic name: acetic acid, aka vinegar) before it excretes it. Ethanal has an apple smell and even inhaling its fumes can give you a mild hangover. Water helps dilute it and helps your body excrete it, but dehydration only exacerbates a hangover, it doesn't cause it.
12. Re:Hangover??? by WillKemp · 2013-09-20 23:11 · Score: 1
  
  Most drunk drivers can drive as well as most sober drivers
  
  Of course they can. Just like the vast majority of people think their driving skills are better than average.
  Most people may be able to drive reasonably well when they're not too drunk, but their reaction times are slower, so if something happens - .e.g., a pedestrian walks out in front of them - they can't react as fast, and that pedestrian's dead, where they may have lived if the driver had reacted faster..
13. Re:Hangover??? by u38cg · 2013-09-21 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  It's not about driving, it's about reacting. I can drive when I can't even focus both eyes, but I sure as hell can't react to anything on the road.
  
  --
  [FUCK BETA]
14. Re:Hangover??? by ChrisMaple · 2013-09-21 11:03 · Score: 1
  
  BS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WHO_BAC_Relative_risk.png
  
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  Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
15. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-21 12:39 · Score: 1
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_tolerance
  BAC or Blood alcohol content is not the same drunk for everyone. As tolerances build up, people who don't even notice an effect from the alcohol will still be legally drunk. The low limit is for the occasional drinkers who will be adversely impacted by drinking such small amounts.
16. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-21 12:45 · Score: 1
  
  Blood alcohol content does not have the same effects on everyone. At .08, a legally drunk driver who drinks regularly will not have their reaction times or any senses dulled like a novice drinker. If you take two legally drunk people, one who drinks once or twice a year and one who drinks every night, you will find one of them to be more capable then the other and not noticeably under any influence.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_tolerance
17. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-21 12:51 · Score: 1
  
  You are forgetting that the legal term for drunk driving is an number encoded into law by the state that measures the alcohol concentration in the blood stream. A well known effect called alcohol tolerance allows a person who drinks regularly to consume more alcohol then others before the effects of the alcohol show. Unfortunately for the offender, the blood alcohol concentration does not change with the person's tolerance so a person with a .08 BAC can be as sober as someone who doesn't drink if their tolerance is high enough and still be considered legally drunk and get a DUI.
  My point and statement stand in place. Most DUIs are issued to people who regularly consume alcohol and hence have a tolerance of some sort to the alcohol.
18. Re:Hangover??? by Hognoxious · 2013-09-22 03:11 · Score: 1
  
  From the very article you linked:
  "Direct alcohol tolerance is largely dependent on body size. Large-bodied people will require more alcohol to reach insobriety than lightly built people. Thus, men, being larger than women on average, will have a higher alcohol tolerance."
  Odd. See, the C in BAC stands for concentration. So body size is already taken into account, isn't it?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
19. Re:Hangover??? by Hognoxious · 2013-09-22 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  He's confused. Alcohol tolerance is the ability to consume a relatively large amount of alcohol and still have a relatively low BAC.
  It's not, as he thinks, that the effect of BAC itself is lessened.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
20. Re:Hangover??? by sumdumass · 2013-09-22 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  A +B can equal C but C doesn't always equal B+A.
  Large bodied people do need more alcohol to equate to the same blood alcohol concentration. That's not what the article is saying though. That is a matter of dilution not how drunk someone is by the effect of alcohol (impaired reflexes, decision making and so on). Dilution is as simple as adding 3 grams of something to 10 grams or 15 grams. It would take more then 3 grams to equate the same concentration in the 15 gram batch. What the article is saying is that larger people, at the same concentration (dilution being the same), have a tolerance that can be measured higher then those with smaller body weights. This means a person with a tolerance can consume enough to be at a certain BAC level and show less signs of impairment then others without a tolerance. Larger people show larger signs of not being impaired when they have a tolerance.
21. Re:Hangover??? by u38cg · 2013-09-25 00:28 · Score: 1
  
  And your practical method for implementing law based on this is? It's a simple message: don't drink then drive. The limit is to let people have a glass of wine the night before they drive to work, not to let people chuck as many down their neck as they can get away with.
  
  --
  [FUCK BETA]
Zodiac? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 18:20 · Score: 0

Neal Stephenson's novel Zodiac deals with something similar. But also a bit more sinister (it wasn't beer/alcohol that was made).
So you get pulled over by the cops... by Hognoxious · 2013-09-20 19:08 · Score: 2

Cop: You just ran a red and you're weaving like a Sarejevan shopper. How much have you been drinking?
You: Nothing, honest. But I did eat two donuts and a large muffin.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
1. Re:So you get pulled over by the cops... by jellomizer · 2013-09-20 23:08 · Score: 2
  
  You still get a breath check and fail. It is a DUI Driving While Intoxicated. Not drinking and driving. If you are intoxicated due to a medical condition you are still not fit to drive.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
2. Re:So you get pulled over by the cops... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 10:59 · Score: 0
  
  I could be wrong, but being drunk with no means to know you had caused this (as in prior to him learning of the medical condition) must be a defense in some fashion.
3. Re:So you get pulled over by the cops... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-22 02:52 · Score: 0
  
  Looking for where he said it would be a valid legal defense ... nope, not finding it.
  Also, most cops don't even know where or what Sarajevan is. Why didn't you bring that to our attention too?
Re:NPR's Agenda; Do a Liberal Dig, Even if Off-Top by Samantha+Wright · 2013-09-20 21:02 · Score: 2

A curious thought! Here is the WSJ's bit on it. I'm somewhat skeptical that the process accused could produce ketone bodies to the same magnitude; keep in mind that ketosis occurs when the body starts burning fat because it's starving and/or exercising. Even with the minuscule amounts of water being consumed by lipolysis and the citric acid cycle, there's still a lot more water in a live human body than in a hunk of pork.

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Re:Eating beetle larvae for protein? No, to get dr by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 21:02 · Score: 2, Funny

Bonus: This theory explains those crazy emails they keep sending me.
Good Fucking Christ by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-20 23:16 · Score: 0

It's called a gastrointestinal yeast infection, and it happens ALL THE FUCKING TIME. This is NOT NEWS.
1. Re:Good Fucking Christ by retchdog · 2013-09-21 01:02 · Score: 1
  
  Candida yeast don't generate ethanol.
  
  --
  "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
he is... by MrKaos · 2013-09-20 23:30 · Score: 1

Manbeerpig

--
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
1. Re:he is... by Sponge+Bath · 2013-09-21 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  Excelsior!
old news by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 01:00 · Score: 0

Old like 80s news. In Reader's Digest maybe. GI in Japan after surrender of Japan in WWII, picked up gut bacteria and whenever he ate carbs he got drunk. Not news.
1. Re:old news by Ungrounded+Lightning · 2013-09-21 07:03 · Score: 1
  
  GI in Japan after surrender of Japan in WWII, picked up gut bacteria and whenever he ate carbs he got drunk.
  That may be the one my parents told me about, back in the '60s or so (but as a war story which probably puts it in WWII.
  In the one I heard about the GI was thrown in the brig and put on bread and water - which of course made him even more intoxicated. Then they mounted an investigation to see how he was getting the booze smuggled in. That finally showed it was a medical problem.
  Turns out he had diverticulosis - one or more failures in the intestinall muscle wall where the gut membrane bubbles out into a little appendix-like pocket and is prone to infections - and one of these became home to a culture of brewer's yeast.
  
  --
  Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
2. Re:old news by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:42 · Score: 0
  
  As I remember the media stories from the 80s, the condition was limited almost entirely to Japanese and was creatively given the name "Japanese drunkenness disease". The media was also blaming the condition on gut bacteria which had been mutated by radiation from the atomic bomb blasts. I always wondered if it was just an excuse for the fact that orientals can't hold their liquor.
Did anyone notice where the paper was published? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 01:24 · Score: 1

SCIRP are a for-profit, supposedly peer-reviewed journal scam with a history of spamming academics and operating bogus conferences. Their journals frequently list academics as being on the editorial board without the academic's knowledge or permission. I'm a mail administrator for a university, and I block their junk on sight.
I'm not saying the paper has no merit - I'm just saying the authors have done themselves a grave dis-service on the credibility front by publishing with a journal that spammed them, spams others, and looks like a con.
Re: Eating beetle larvae for protein? No, to get d by DigiShaman · 2013-09-21 03:43 · Score: 1

The very idea of eating larvae makes me wanna puke! It's been discribed to me as biting down on a tiny water ballon. Only it's a puss filled sack that fills your entire mouth when they burst.

--
Life is not for the lazy.
Not very funny to me... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 04:51 · Score: 0

...Because my father, then a social-drinker-at-worst, died of cirrhosis. He spent years bouncing around various GPs and GIs with no relief for his digestive symptoms. Finally, he was diagnosed-by-default with celiac disease after a blood alcohol test came back at something like .12 when he hadn't had consumed any alcohol for over two weeks. He did have a happy last few years being gluten-free, was happy when he finally did develop a bit of a gut (6'2 and 138 lbs for years,) but it was too late - the damage had already been done to the liver.
I think the true problem is that it's very hard to isolate conditions like this from closet drinking.
Montignac by chthon · 2013-09-21 04:58 · Score: 1

In his main book, Michel Montignac also talks about this, about a person who never drank, but got cirrosis due to alcohol forming in his body. Unfortunately, he generalises it too much, saying that everybody can get it by eating too much fruit after dinner.
No, Austrians just... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 06:21 · Score: 0

Eat their cowards :)
It's win win for them.
Re: Eating beetle larvae for protein? No, to get d by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-21 09:36 · Score: 0

So its like eating a chocolate covered cherry?
[capcha: sensuous]
Re: Eating beetle larvae for protein? No, to get by DigiShaman · 2013-09-21 10:32 · Score: 1

Umm, ya. Tell yourself whatever it takes to keep it down. I for one will pass.

--
Life is not for the lazy.
Saccharomyces vs Candida by manu0601 · 2013-09-21 13:58 · Score: 1

TFA describes gut proliferation of a yeast called saccharomyces cervisae, which indeed produces ethanol. This is fairly uncommon compared to gut proliferation of other yeasts called candida.
Mullahs by Anonymous+Bullard · 2013-09-21 17:16 · Score: 1

Just imagine if the World Congress of Mullahs somehow managed to weaponize (read: aerosolize) this beelzebubian yeast and it got loose during a demo at their Annual General Meeting...

--
Should invading one's peaceful neighbours be opposed, or rewarded with trade deals?
I wonder that this condition is "rare" by bickerdyke · 2013-09-22 21:08 · Score: 1

Considering the microbiological fun fair we alreadhy have in a healthy gut and that a yeast infection or other disturbances in the balance of gut bacteria isn't too uncommon, I'd have expected to see alcohol producing yeasts more often.

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bickerdyke