ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -Stomach acid plays two important roles in our body: initiating the breakdown of our food into absorbable components for energy and nutrition, and it helps protect us from infection by killing potentially harmful microbes and spores in food1, 2.

Detailed explanation-2: -Gastric acid may provide an important host defense by killing ingested pathogens (5). For example, normal gastric acidity kills more than 99.9% of several gram-negative bacilli within 30 min (9), and vegetative cells of Clostridium difficile are killed within 5 to 30 min upon exposure to pH 2 to 3 buffers (17).

Detailed explanation-3: -Many bacterial pathogens, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and H. pylori, can circumvent the acid conditions of the stomach by developing adaptive mechanisms that allow these bacteria to survive in acid environments.

Detailed explanation-4: -Stomach acid is a chemical barrier against infection. It is hydrochloric acid and is strong enough to kill any pathogens that have been caught in mucus in the airways or consumed in food or water.

Detailed explanation-5: -Hydrochloric acid helps your body break down, digest, and absorb nutrients like proteins and kills bacteria protecting the body from infections. Histamine stimulates parietal cells to secrete HCl. Hydrochloric acid kills harmful bacteria in the stomach.