09/01/2026
Did you know it’s possible to feel intoxicated without touching a drop of alcohol?
This is the reality for those living with Auto-Brewery Syndrome (ABS), a rare condition where the gut microbiome becomes a literal brewery. In ABS, specific yeasts (like Saccharomyces) or bacteria (like Klebsiella pneumoniae) ferment dietary carbohydrates into ethanol, which then enters the bloodstream.
Why does this happen? It often boils down to gut dysbiosis. When the delicate balance of your microbiome is disrupted frequently by long-term antibiotic use or high-sugar diets ethanol-producing microbes can overgrow. These pathobionts utilise specific metabolic pipelines:
Mixed-Acid Fermentation: Converting glucose into ethanol, lactate, and acetate.
Ethanolamine Utilisation: A pathway that further fuels microbial bloom and alcohol synthesis.
Enzymatic Overexpression: ABS patients show a significant upregulation of microbial enzymes involved in pyruvate-to-ethanol conversion, exceeding the liver’s first-pass metabolic capacity.Recent research has further highlighted how specific bacterial pathways drive this internal fermentation, leading to brain fog, slurred speech, and even legal intoxication.
At Taymount Clinic, we don’t just look at symptoms; we look at the ecosystem. Managing ABS requires more than just avoiding carbs; it requires rebalancing the microbiome. Our clinical team work to:
Reintroduce a diverse, healthy microbial community.
Rebalance the gut barrier to prevent metabolic storms.
If you’ve been struggling with unexplained brain fog, fatigue, or symptoms of intoxication after meals, your gut may be trying to tell you something.
