Police officers may suspect people of drunk driving for a number of reasons. Perhaps a driver saw a small animal on the road and swerved. Maybe they become anxious during a traffic stop, which may make a police officer feel suspicious about their circumstances.
If a police officer believes they may have committed a driving under the influence (DUI) offense, they look for evidence to justify an arrest. Once they have probable cause to arrest a driver, they can then ask them to perform a chemical breath test.
Many drivers are happy to undergo chemical testing, as they believe the results should exonerate them. Drivers who adhere to specialized diets could produce a false positive on a breath test.
Certain diets affect body chemistry
There are a variety of different diets that people use to reduce their body fat or improve their health. Some of them are more effective than others. The keto diet and several similar diets, including the Paleo diet, encourage a whole foods-based diet that skews heavy on protein and animal products while limiting carbohydrate consumption.
The goal is to keep people healthy while their bodies burn fat. If those diets are effective, the people could be at risk of DUI charges. A state of ketoacidosis, which is the goal of a keto diet, produces acetone as the body metabolizes fat.
The body generally eliminates acetone through respiration. Drivers could fail breath tests even when they have had nothing to drink whatsoever because of the diet that they follow.
Learning more about factors that can compromise chemical breath testing may help people fight pending DUI charges. A failed breath test does not automatically mean that a conviction is inevitable.