Why do our stomach have acid when the liver produces alkaline bile?
Our stomachs have proton pumps in them that produces hydrochloric acid to help break down the food we eat. ( If you ever heard of proton pumps inhibitors…these are drugs that prevent the proton pumps from releasing this acid…like Prilosec, etc. ) As the food moves out of the stomach and into the first part of the intestines…a substance known as secretin makes the intestine more alkaline and it signals the liver to make bile and the pancreas to release bicarbonate from its cells. You can read about this here under the “function” heading on this site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretin Bicarbonates neutralizes any acids. The liver produces bile which contains bile salts or acid, cholesterol, bilirubin, and other substances. This bile moves out of the liver through ducts known as the biliary ducts. It goes to the gallbladder to be stored and concentrated or to the intestines. When the food starts to pass this area
