A hospital patient was regularly found to be intoxicated. He denied that he was drinking alcoholic beverages. The doctors and nurses made a special point to eliminate the possibility that the patient...

A hospital patient was regularly found to be intoxicated. He denied that he was drinking alcoholic beverages. The doctors and nurses made a special point to eliminate the possibility that the patient or his friends were smuggling alcohol into his room, but he was still regularly intoxicated. Then, one of the doctors had an idea that turned out to be correct and cured the patient of his intoxication. The idea involved the patients digestive system and one of the oxidative reactions. What was the doctors idea?