What would you do if your stomach could turn carbohydrates into alcohol? You're probably thinking you'd be pretty pumped, right? Well, it's not exactly as cool as it sounds.
For years, Nick Hess would eat potato chips or other carb-heavy snacks, only to end up slurring his words and smelling like he'd been drinking heavily, reports Delish.com.
"Every day for a year, I would wake up and vomit," he recalls. "Sometimes, it would come on over the course of a few days. Sometimes, it was just like, 'Bam! I'm drunk.'"
His wife, Karen Daws, thought he'd become a closet alcoholic. After Nick swore otherwise, Daws taped him to see what was actually happening. Sure enough, he became visibly sloshed, yet consumed no alcohol.
When they decided to seek help, doctors were also quick to brush off Hess' story, thinking he was a secret alcoholic, as well.
Called auto-brewery syndrome (we swear), Hess' stomach contains an extremely high amount of yeast, which, when combined with carbohydrates, causes everything to ferment and turn into alcohol. Needless to say, carb-heavy foods like bread, chips, and pasta lead to many drunken nights for Hess.
Now, he sticks to a low-carb diet and also takes anti-fungal medication.
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