Did you have too much to drink last night? Or nothing at all? Well, a woman in upstate New York has a high blood alcohol level whether she drinks or not. A drunk-driving charge against the woman was dismissed after doctors proved she suffers from a rare condition called “auto-brewery syndrome.”

The woman was pulled over for erratic driving and showed to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.33 percent, which is well over the legal 0.08 percent. She claimed not to have consumed enough alcohol to be drunk and to prove it she started having doctors test her. Her lawyer arranged two nurses and a physician’s assistant to monitor her for a full day and then retest her.

“At the end of the day, she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.36 percent without drinking any alcoholic beverages.”

She also used a breath test kit that showed every night for over two weeks she had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.20 percent despite not drinking ANY booze. Her body really does use high-carbohydrate foods to create alcohol. Her lawyer said,

“She had no idea she had this condition. Never felt tipsy. Nothing.”

The DUI charges were dismissed this December. She is now free to drive with no restrictions but plans on making some changes to her diet. It’s January 1. Don’t we all. (T/Y Tad; via The Guardian)