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A beer belly is not uncommon for many Teesside men, but for Matthew Hogg his is something a bit special.

Because no matter how hard he tries, he cannot stay sober - as everything he eats turns to alcohol.

The 34-year-old Teesside man was born with an in-body brewery that went undetected for 20 years meaning he spent years being “drunk” at school after eating highly starchy or sugary foods.

The strength of the alcohol his body produces is so powerful that he even suffers a hangover every morning and it has left him battling chronic alcohol-poisoning and liver disease.

Teetotal Matthew, from Teesville, suffers from an extremely rare condition known as auto-brewery syndrome, where an overgrowth of yeast in his small intestine produces pure ethanol that is then absorbed directly into the bloodstream.

Matthew said: “Every time I eat bread, potatoes or starchy rice I produce 100% proof drinking alcohol that travels around my body through my bloodstream - if I eat a portion of rice I would suffer a hangover equivalent of having glugged three bottles of red wine the night before.

“I have experienced symptoms from birth and during my childhood there were countless times I suffered ‘drunkenness’ without having consumed an alcoholic beverage.”

While studying for his A-levels Matthew’s condition became more severe and he would often experience “drunk” effects, such as dizziness, nausea and even aggression.

Matthew added: “I would start feeling intoxicated a few hours after having something to eat as my body began digesting it. I’m usually quite a shy and quiet person and had a lot of friends at school, but there were times when I would act like a raging drunk by saying horrible things to people, slurring words, upsetting people and just stirring up trouble.”

The complexity of Matthew’s condition baffled NHS doctors, who insisted he visit a psychiatrist as a result of regularly missing school. But Matthew, whose mum and sister also suffer from the same condition, sought private help from specialists in London and Mexico.

The family blew their entire £50,000 savings trying to have Matthew’s condition identified and it wasn’t until a blood test showed abnormally high levels of ethanol and other alcohols present, indicating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, that a diagnosis was made.

Matthew added: “I finally recognised I’d been suffering auto brewery syndrome all these years after reading a book about a Japanese man who was arrested by police for drunk-driving despite insisting he was teetotal.”

The illness has had a devastating impact on Matthew’s life - he is unable to hold down a job and pursue a career as a nutritional therapist despite graduating with First Class Honours three years ago.

He has to adhere to a strict diet in order to manage the fermentation in his gut - the vast majority of common foods, drinks and snacks are off the menu, along with fast food and takeaways.

Matthew, who lives with girlfriend Mandy Taylor, is forced to stay home as a result of having little or no energy on a daily basis - but he did set up the Environmental Illness Resource website to help fellow sufferers.

And 26-year-old Mandy ensures that there are no tempting snacks or banned foods in the cupboards.

Mandy, who works as a teacher, said: “We are able to go out for meals as a couple but not as often as we would both like. I watched other friends in their ‘normal’ relationships and did feel envious of what they had but this made me fight for Matthew and make him realise that his syndrome should not dictate his future happiness.”

Matthew’s condition is so severe, that usual treatment procedures of anti-fungal medications, probiotic supplements and selected nutritional supplements do not prevent the production of alcohol. He has been left to manage the level of fermentation himself with only vitamin and minerals to help.

Matthew added: “We must typically eat a natural diet based on meat, fish, eggs, seeds and vegetables and drink only pure water and herbal teas.”

A spokesman from Biolab UK, which specialises in nutritional medicine, said: “Healthy levels of candida are maintained by friendly bacteria and a healthy immune response system. If the friendly bacteria are disrupted then candida can multiply radically and become the dominant member of the ‘intestinal zoo’.

“When this happens it spells trouble for the human host.”