– If our stomach acids are so acidic and able to essentially puree food to be digested, then why does stuff like corn and seeds not breakdown?

Question

I’ve always wondered this. I know it’s something to do with cellulose in the corn but wouldn’t the hydrochloric acids in the stomach be so acidic that it breaks down everything?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Your stomach *doesn’t* purée things by acid, and it’s not really that acidic (otherwise it could burn your esophagus and small intestine).

A lot of digestion is done by enzymes, and we don’t have enzymes for the hulls of seeds.