If you’ve ever been faced with the agony of knowing something is very wrong with you physically, but no doctor can figure out the problem even after doing a batch of the usual blood and other tests, after which they treat you for something that is similar, but not the real issue, or even suggest it’s all in your head, you know how devastating that is both mentally and emotionally. 

That’s the horrible reality Dr. Barbara Cordell and her husband Joe faced when she and others saw him stumbling and slurring his words as if he were totally drunk first thing in the morning. And yet, he hadn’t had a drop to drink! As Dr. Cordell writes in her important book, My Gut Makes Alcohol, Joe is one of hundreds of people who suffer from the little recognized Auto-Brewery Syndrome, and believe me, this almost inexplicable malady is one that nobody wants to live with as either a patient or caregiver spouse. 

I believe My Gut Makes Alcohol has been written to enlighten both sufferers and healers. To make that work for both, Dr. Cordell has included a fascinating and eye-opening collection of first-hand patient accounts interspersed with very detailed medical information on what happens in our guts after eating and drinking anything, not just alcohol. Regardless of whether you are a patient, a spouse or doctor, what you thought you knew about digestion seems grossly inadequate once you read the author’s very comprehensive breakdown. 

You see, as simple as I can make this, it is indeed completely possible for some people’s guts to turn into an alcohol brewery, depending on how their guts handle carbs, sugars, even the smell of solvents, chemicals or stress of any kind, just to name a few triggers. There are many more. And what do brewers use in making alcohol? Yeast!

 As the author points out, when our guts go haywire, as in Joe’s and other cases Dr. Cordell shares, it’s an overgrowth of yeast in our gut that can make us act, speak and vomit as if we were dead drunk. Just imagine how that can affect people in their jobs! Or imagine being pulled over for drunken driving, or worse yet causing an accident, and insisting you have had nothing to drink. Who would believe you, especially when you end up blowing well over acceptable limits in a breathalyzer test. Auto Brewery Syndrome, ABS, is no joke and not as rare as you might think. Victims’ lives have been turned upside-down and inside out after losing their jobs, draining their finances and still having no easy solutions, even medication, to relieve or end their suffering. 

How can you know if you or a loved one has ABS or is just a “closet alcoholic? Well here are some of the symptoms of yeast overgrowth:

“...itchy, flaky skin, toe fungus, vaginal or jock itch, athlete’s foot, dandruff, fatigue...gastric upset such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, belching and flatulence.” 

Wait, you or your doctor might say. That sounds like symptoms of a dozen other illnesses e.g. Diabetes. Exactly. And that’s why it’s so hard to nail down the real problem: your alcohol-producing, yeast-infected gut! And that’s also the reason you and doctors everywhere need to read Dr. Cordell’s eye-opening book. You’ll find yourself shaking your head at the heartaches suffered by the handful of patients’ stories shared in My Gut Makes Alcohol. You will also discover possible solutions to this crippling syndrome that include diet and lifestyle changes, along with some more effective meds that have been used to keep symptoms under control, if not fully eradicate the problem. 

Dr. Cordell includes copious references to reading materials and resources, her own website at www.autobrewery.com, and mentions Facebook groups you might wish to look into for more information and support.  There are also several other links to ABS you will find on Google, but I recommend beginning your investigation into this syndrome by reading this book. Doing so could save someone’s life, possibly your own. Pick it up today.