If our stomach acids are some of the strongest acids, how do stomach bugs and tapeworms and germs not get digested in it? How is it that only things like insulin get digested?
In: Biology
Most people overestimate the amount of your digestive system that involves acid.
Generally “gut” parasites get into you as eggs, which have protective coatings much like your stomach lining does.
Once they pass through the stomach, they actually develop and live in the intestines, which are designed to much more slowly and gently break down foods that have already been chewed and then weakened by saliva and stomach acid using enzymatic and bacterial action. It’s a much easier place for something to adapt to and we actually have a ton of bacteria in there that helps us breakdown food. Parasites are larger and less durable than extremophile bacteria can be, but the specialists like tapeworms are still plenty tough enough to survive the (relative to the stomach) gentle environment of the intestines.
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