How Strong Is The Stomach Acid?

There are several elements on the face of the Earth that will truly amaze us. One of the examples will be lava. Lava is a hot liquid that flows out of a volcanic mountain. Looking at how the lava flows down and burn everything in its path showed us what mother nature is capable of.

The same can be said about the reactivity of acid, especially our stomach acid. You must have seen a video online showing how metal can simply melt when certain acids are poured onto it. This showed how strong these acids are and there is a reason behind it.

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Some people out there might be unaware that such corrosivity can be found in our bodies too. We all know that stomach acid helps us to digest food but some of you might not expect it to be as strong as to melt certain metals.

Acid In The Stomach

Stomach acid or also known as gastric acid is comprised of potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and hydrochloric acid. Stomach acid plays a role in digesting the food that we eat. But how much strong the stomach acid truly is?

Acid is measured on what's called the pH scale. The pH scale has a range of numbers from 0 to 14. If we were to touch the stomach acid, our hands will quickly get dissolved by the corrosivity. However, the gastric acid is not the only substance found in our stomach.

This explains why the food that we eat gets digested fairly quickly. Aside from that, stomach acid also kills harmful bacteria found in our food. Some people might ask how long does it take for the stomach acid to digest our food?

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Well, it depends on the type of food that we eat. For instance, a steak will take around 4 hours to be fully broken down. This long period also tells us why high-protein food will make us feel full for much longer compared to food that is high in sugar.

Good digestion will start as you start eating your meal. The more frequently you chew your food, the less work that needs to be done by your stomach to digest it. As you swallow, the food will pass a long tube called the esophagus.

At the end of this tube will be a small sphincter that will open just enough for the food to pass through into the stomach. There will be another sphincter at the bottom of the stomach known as the lower esophageal sphincter(LES) that prevents stomach acid from going back into the esophagus which is known to cause heartburn.

So going back to the question of how such a strong acid does not corrode our stomach? How can an acid that is capable of melting metal causes no harm to our stomach? This is all thanks to a unique cell called the epithelium which functions to protect our stomach.

The epithelium cell in our stomach will produce a mucus-like substance and bicarbonate that will cover the internal layer of our stomach. This bicarbonate substance acts to neutralize the acidity of our stomach acid.

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This mucus-like substance also forms a barrier to our stomach walls and protects it from acidity. But sometimes this system does not act in a perfect manner. Some individuals will have a problem producing too much stomach acid.

When this happens, the epithelium cells will do their job to ensure that the stomach lining is well protected. This excess acid may cause damage to our stomach walls or also known as gastric ulcer.

As painful as it sounds, there is a treatment for this condition and it is best to be treated with the help of a doctor.

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