We wash our skin to get rid of greasiness and oils, but we can’t wash out gastrointestinal tract in the same way. How do our bodies remove that “greasy” coating from eating greasy foods from our GI tract?

Question

When you eat something greasy, you can feel it on your lips and around your mouth. That can get washed away if it’s external to your body with soap and water. What I’m dumbfounded by is how our bodies can seemingly “wash away” that greasiness from our mouths, throat, stomach, intestines, etc… How is it done?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Your GI tract washes itself with acid. The contents of your stomach are so acidic that your body refreshes the lining with new cells quickly, a whole new lining every 5-7 days.