Why doesn't your stomach digest itself?

Learn About Digestion of Food:

 The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve metal. Just a drop of this stomach acid on your palm can melt straight through your muscles.

It seems like your stomach can digest anything.

So why doesn't it eat itself?

As soon as you take the first bite of food say a cheeseburger, for example, your stomach begins releasing a very strong acid do and as hydrochloric acid, this acid is commonly used to clean Rusty steel and is also found in household cleaning supplies such as toilet bowl cleaners acids are measured on the pH scale which has a range from 0 to 14 the lower the pH level the more strongly acidic the fluid is A healthy stomach has a pH of 1.52 3.08 this put stomach acid somewhere between vinegar and battery acid surprisingly.

This strong acid does not harm your stomach itself.

That's because your stomach has a lining of mucus secreting cells that coats the inside of the stomach protecting your stomach from getting burnt from the acid these cells sacrifice themselves in order to protect deeper layers of the stomach each minute the surface lining shed some and sells your stomach lining replaces itself every 4 days and the stomach cells that come into contact with digesting food are replaced every five minutes your stomach also secretes a bicarbonate Rich solution that coats the mucosal wall.

Bicarbonate is an alkaline which neutralizes the acid secreted by the stomach this continuous supply of bicarbonate protects your stomach from digesting itself your stomach secretes roughly 2 liters or a half a gallon of hydrochloric acid. Each day hydrochloric acid along with digestive enzymes and other chemicals in the stomach are together known as the gastric juice.

This gastric juice is very important for absorbing nutrients from the food you eat hydrochloric acid kills bacteria and viruses that may come along with food and drink protecting you from various infections and diseases.

It also activates stomach enzymes that digest proteins in your food hydrochloric acid and maintains the stomach pH for the functions of these enzymes.

Too much digestive acidity can eat away at the mucous lining of the stomach and can cause an ulcer.

Without enough stomach acid. There is a greater risk of infections of the digestive tract bacteria May interfere with the stomachs defenses, which can also cause ulcers one such bacteria is known as H. Pylori.

These bacterial attack the protective barrier of the stomach.

Once the upper lining of the stomach is damaged stomach acid can get through the sensitive lining beneath both the bacteria and the acid can irritate the lining and can also cause an ulcer now you may be asking if a drop of stomach acid can eat right through metal.

Why doesn't it just kill the 'H' pylori bacteria?

It's because the bacteria has evolved to survive the acidic environment of the stomach. It secretes an enzyme that produces ammonia. The production of ammonia around H. Pylori neutralizes the acidity of the stomach making the environment more hospitable for the bacterium.

The human stomach is a volatile place and it's always in an amazing process of maintaining a balanced environment.

If one thing starts to work too much or if something else stops doing its job that balance is lost and the volatility of your stomach will be felt literally.

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