You probably need to consume a lot of the active yeast and have a particularly weak stomach acid for this. Thereās likely more to it than that, but I can dream, canāt I?
Definitely a mixed blessing. On the one hand he shouldnāt be driving. On the other hand heāll never need to drive to the store to pick up a case of Milwaukeeās Best.
I assume that only a little bit of yeast has to make it past the stomach and into the intestines, which are much more convivial for microbes. I assume that the locals, already established by the billion, normally give them a rather hostile reception (which is presumably what keeps this so uncommon); but if they are depleted by antibiotics or other factorsā¦
This is clearly the first step towards Culture-style drug glands, and we should hail this fellow as a saint.
Also heāll fart like a brewery.
Per wikipedia, stomach acidās pH is between 1.5 and 3.5. Typical pH for beers is 4.0 or a little more acidic, and wines are around 3.0. And thatās the desirable levels of acidity - a hardy yeast can tolerate much more acidic conditions than would make for a good tasting wine or beer.
The story deserves more skepticism, what with being (a) published in a bottom-feeding non-peer-review vanity-press journal, and (b) written by an aromatherapist.
Donāt discount the scenario of someone choosing to use take their home-brewed, yeast-intensive beer in through the back door, so to speak. Alien thought? To me, sureā¦ but far, far stranger things have happened.
Imagine yeast with a mutation that makes them competitive against our normal gut flora. We could end up with a drunken plague.
How would the mutants pass person-to-person?
Sure weāll be able to gland beer, but will we be able to gland pretzels?
Pretzels are mostly carb. Heās glanding pretzels into beer.
To amplify my earlier Bah-humbuggery:
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The āInternational Journal of Clinical Medicineā is a SCIRP journal, this being a publishing house where the editorial overview consists of cashing the authorsā cheques; known for previously accepting āpapersā generated by random-number software. In this case, editorial overview certainly did not include āproof-readingā ā the first typo is in the list of keywords.
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The first author ā the one pimping out the story with press releases to Fox News, Huffington Post and similar reputable media ā is an aromatherapeutic quack. The second author is lying low and saying nothing.
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According to a quick education from the University of Google, the possibility of āauto-fermentation syndromeā as an excuse for drunk driving was most recently laughed out of the house in a 2000 review.
MKB was pwned.
Aside from the factors that smut_clyde mentions above: has no one else here ever homebrewed? You need to have the wort (the slurry of malt, hops, water and yeast) in a container, sitting still, so that the yeast can digest the sugar in the malt. The stuff in your intestines is constantly on the move; if it isnāt, youāve got way bigger problems than an internal yeast infection. My guess is that the guy is a secret drunk.
Given how much carbon dioxide yeast produces when itās fermenting sugars to alcohol, he must have blown up like a balloon. Or the storyās bogus, one of the two.
Even the stories about elephants getting drunk on fermenting fruit appear not to be substantiated: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1219_051219_drunk_elephant.html
I donāt know the journal, but everything I can find on it does indicate that the International Journal of Clinical Medicine is peer reviewed. Also, that aromatherapist, sheās also got a Bachelor of Science and is a registered nurse. Oh and the other author, heās a Gastroenterologist (or there is another Justin McCarthy, who has worked with a woman from Texas on an article about a condition beginning in the gut).
Bartender! One bowl of Cheerios, neat!
And now after looking a little deeper I see youāve done more research than your initial comment. I stand corrected.
UPDATE: this comment replies to comment #17; I had not read Itsumishiās comment #19 when I wrote it.
everything I can find on it does indicate that the International Journal of Clinical Medicine is peer reviewed
I refer readers to the Whackywedia item on its publisher, [SCIRP][1]. In particular, its imprints are known for [including people on Editorial Boards without telling them][2] (as well as plagiarising content). Yes, the IJCM claims to be peer reviewed, but predatory open-access journals usually do.
Also, that aromatherapist, sheās also got a Bachelor of Science and is a registered nurse.
And she offers training courses in āclinical aromatherapyā.
ā¦in the clinical use of essential oils in their practice. Students
gain knowledge in the application and controlled use of essential oils
for specific, measurable outcomes. This four module course
encompasses the history, core concepts, research and chemistry of
aromatherapy and essential oils with an emphasis on the key concepts
of the use of essential oils within a health care framework. Specific
references for stress, psychoneuroimmunology, inflammation, pain,
insomnia, cancer, AIDS, and womenās health are covered in the course.
Aromatherapy for cancer? I am in awe.
the other author, heās a Gastroenterologist
His qualifications are not in question. I am unsure how much input he had to the paperā¦ despite being the author with the relevant expertise, he is not the one promoting it with interviews and press releases.
[1]: Scientific Research Publishing - Wikipedia
[2]: Two new journals copy the old | Nature
