Mark Mongiardo spent years confused and stigmatized by symptoms that mimicked alcoholism—slurred speech, balance issues, and the unmistakable smell of alcohol—despite not drinking. A dedicated teacher and coach, he was repeatedly called into school offices, arrested twice for DWIs, and even faced doubt from his wife, who believed he might be secretly drinking. After searching online, he discovered auto-brewery syndrome, a rare condition where gut microbes convert carbs into alcohol, leading to real intoxication without a single drink. A glucose challenge test confirmed it: his blood alcohol level spiked to 0.14 within an hour of consuming sugar.

By the time he got diagnosed in 2019, Mongiardo had already sold his house and moved in with family—part of the fallout from legal and career consequences. With felony charges pending, he couldn't pass background checks for teaching jobs and struggled to find work, eventually taking a job at Target and later moving to Florida to rebuild as a real estate agent. Now living with a strict no-carb diet and regularly checking his BAC, he hopes his story brings awareness to a condition that nearly derailed his life. ...read more