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Gastric acid can aid in eliminating hazardous microbes that we consume through food and beverages. (Image credit: SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images)ShareShare by:
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If you feel like you’re going to vomit or experience heartburn, a scorching feeling may arise as stomach acid moves into the esophagus. However, given that stomach acid is potent enough to bother your throat, why doesn’t it erode your stomach itself?
The stomach of humans has adapted to both produce and withstand highly corrosive settings. “Its function is to degrade the components of physical food into tinier fragments, so that by the point this substance reaches the small intestine, it’s divided into adequately tiny pieces for absorption,” Dr. Sally Bell, a gastroenterologist from Monash University in Australia, expressed to Live Science.
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This severe setting also presents an additional protective function, according to Dr. Benjamin Levy III, a gastroenterologist at University of Chicago Medicine. “Gastric fluids additionally assist the organism in eliminating bacterial pathogens, preventing illness and strategically hindering the progress of bacterial overgrowth,” Levy mentioned to Live Science. This bears unique importance in obliterating potential food-derived pathogens, as he stated.
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Without safeguard, this blend of potent acid and protein-metabolizing enzymes would quickly initiate the deterioration of the stomach lining, initially resulting in discomforting ulcers ahead of finally perforating a cavity. Nonetheless, cells lining the internal surface of the stomach — a coating recognized as the epithelium — has evolved a distinct secretion for defending the organ against aggression.
“These cells stand unique due to their production of a dense, gluey layer of mucus, which is alkaline and moderates the acidity,” Bell elaborated. “The proteinaceous substance is ample in bicarbonate, in essence, shielding the stomach’s inner lining from the consequences of its personal acid and its individual enzymes.”
In a wholesome digestive tract, this mucosal buffer blankets the interior of the stomach and is consistently renovated by the epithelial cells, ensuring continuous defense. Nevertheless, quandaries may emerge upon damage to this layer. Minute ruptures can permit acid and pepsin to infiltrate beneath the mucus, possibly resulting in ongoing inflammation and ulcers, Levy clarified.
One source of such injury stems from the overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen. “NSAIDs compromise the stomach lining through hindering cyclooxygenase (COX-1),” an enzyme accountable for generating hormone-resembling compounds termed prostaglandins, Levy conveyed.
“This curtails prostaglandin manufacture, subsequently engendering a diminution in both mucus and bicarbonate secretion,” Levy detailed.
Certain inclinations, such as tobacco consumption or alcohol intake, may additionally elevate the chances of this form of gastrointestinal disturbance, acting as direct toxins to the lining, Bell indicated. Furthermore, sharply flavored or acidic consumables can overwhelm the stomach’s intrinsic safeguard mechanism, precipitating irritation or triggering reflux into the esophagus.
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In spite of the incredibly acidic setting, bacterial contagions can at times precipitate issues in the stomach. For instance, “Helicobacter pylori possesses the aptitude to secrete proteases and lipases, which degrade the gastric mucus and impair the phospholipid stratum of the epithelial facade,” Levy articulated. Upon detection, H. pylori can be addressed utilizing a blend of antibiotics.
The concluding point? Stomach acid assumes a critical position in both digestion and protection against ailment; thus, the organ has cultivated a remarkable ability to preserve itself and replenish its inner lining.
Disclaimer
This article serves exclusively for provision of information and is not intended as medical consultation.
TOPICSLife’s Little Mysteries
Victoria AtkinsonSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor
Victoria Atkinson is a self-employed science correspondent, focusing on chemistry and its conjunction with both the wild and manufactured domains. Currently residing in York (UK), she formerly functioned as a science content architect at the University of Oxford, and then as a contributor to the Chemistry World editorial collective. Since branching out as a freelancer, Victoria’s center has broadened to encompass a plethora of scientific themes and has engaged with Chemistry Review, Neon Squid Publishing, and the Open University, among others. She holds a DPhil in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford.
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