– If stomach acid is so strong, why sometimes do different food combinations make us sick / vomit? l.e. “The X, Y, Z are not agreeing with me.”

Question

Shouldn’t stomach acid be able to break down most anything? If so, why should different combinations sometimes make us sick?

In: Biology

Answer 1

First of all, stomach acid is not super acidic. It’s a similar acidity to vinegar, or even less. It also becomes weaker when you add food to it, although your body keeps adding more stomach acid as you digest things. Acids are good at breaking down some things, but not others. It also takes time for things to be broken down by the stomach acid.

So, your body is not going to rely on the acid in your stomach to break down things that make you sick. You might feel sick because your body is responding to something toxic, some possible infection, or you might be too full, or any other number of reasons