Auto Brewery Syndrome can land you in trouble for drunken driving without consuming a drop of liquor, says, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Chief of Gastroenterology at AIG Hospitals

HYDERABAD, Oct 23 (The CONNECT) – Your is like a brewery and chances are that you will get caught for drunken driving even if you have never touched booze in your time!

Stating this, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Chief of Gastroenterology at AIG Hospitals, pointed out that people with bad gut health may suffer from what is medically called Auto Brewery Syndrome.

Addressing FICCO Ladies Organisation (FLO) here, Dr Reddy narrated tis anecdote: One of his friend’s daughter landed in a soup while she was driving. She was caught for “drunken driving”. She was shocked because she is a teetotaler. She had to pay the fine and got out. Subsequently, we found that it happened because of a medical condition called ‘Auto Brewery Syndrome’. This means her stomach had a brewery factory. Subsequently, we produced this in court and got over the problem. “ 

FLO Hyderabad Chapter organised a a colloquium on “Healthier Women, Healthier Society”,  in association with AIG Hospitals at its premises in Gachibowli on Friday. 

The Next big thing in Medicine is ​the Gut Microbiome, said ​D​r Reddy.  “The gut breaks down the foods we eat and absorbs nutrients that support the body's functions,” he said and explained that  the importance of the gut to our overall health is a topic of increasing research in the medical community now. Research is showing us that our gut microbiome can affect every organ in our body, added Dr Reddy.

“Now Gut Health is the topic of the world. Our stomach is full of bacteria both good and bad. The stomach has billions of bacteria. It has 1000 species in the intestine, ten times more than our body,” he said and remarked”: “In my friend’s daughter’s case, she acquired bad bacteria in childhood”. 

“A lot of us acquire bad bacteria may be due to an unnecessary caesarean section, not breastfeeding the baby, or excessive usage of antibiotics. If both bacteria good and bad in the stomach fight each other and if the bad bacteria win, it leads to many health problems,” Dr Reddy said.

Profiles of good bacteria and bad bacteria can be done by testing stool. Probiotics are good bacteria. Yoghurt is a good source. Commercial yoghurt may not be good. Homemade yoghurt is good. Prebiotics which are found in vegetables and fruits are good. Almonds which contain Tyrosine are also good sources for bacteria, he narrated.