How Does Stomach Acid Break Down Food?
Stomach acid, more precisely known as gastric acid, is a secretion of the stomach used to break down food. It consists primarily of hydrochloric acid, with good amount of sodium chloride and potassium chloride as well. The acid has a pH of between 1 and 2, although at times in the process it is a bit higher. Stomach acid works in tandem with enzymes to break food down so that nourishment can be derived from it to help the body function, and so that the waste can be discarded. The acid made by the stomach is incredibly strong, so potent that undiluted it would burn through wood, and so the lining of the stomach itself has to be very tough to protect from being burned through. The stomach contains cells called oxyntic cells, or parietal cells, which excrete stomach acid. This raises the acidity of the stomach drastically, which in turn interacts with food in the stomach. The stomach acid denatures the proteins present within food, exposing their peptide bonds. At the same time, stomach a
