Pretty much the title.
If the stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve food, why can’t it kill dangerous germs that cause all sorts of different diseases?
In: Biology
ELI5 by species:
E. Coli produce certain anti-acids so they can survive the stomach. They have like 3 so if one fails the others kick in. Now that’s gangster! So make sure you wash your hands after you poop. There is a super version(triple OG E. Coli(entiritis) that kills instead of just making you sick.
The most common kind of food poisoning bacteria Campylobacter is so devious it hijacks a ride through a protozoa(which moves away from acid) to make you run to the bathroom every 15 minutes after you’re infected.
Deadly C. Botulinum form spores which are like invincible eggs that hatch when they are good and ready to go(safe from heat and acid). They can die but their poop(the botulism toxin) is deadly and used by doctors to remove wrinkles by paralyzing face muscles. Not good if it’s paralyzing your diaphragm or heart after too much gets in your system.
Cholera mostly die but just a little make it thru to your intestines then they bounce back to screw you over. You ever see how bacteria reproduce? It’s exponential so once a few get thru you’re screwed until your immune system kicks in.
There is an algae that is poisonous and fish are left with it’s toxins. You eat that don’t worry about an organism the toxins will kill you. Yeah, if you haven’t caught on by now microorganisms can poison you with their poop. Don’t swim in the red tide either. Just don’t.
Listeria gives zero farts(ELI5 word hehe) about stomach acid, kind of like E. Coli but they need a certain ingredient to do it. So if you eat a food high in glutamate(cheese, nuts, processed meats) they will be happy you are helping them resist the acid.
Staph will give you a boil but just die when you cook it. What doesn’t die? The poop it released into your food before you cooked it which is toxic. They’re a huge fan of cookouts. The human side of things it’s hard to throw out those grilled burgers. I for one have taken many many chances.
Salmonella doesn’t play games, it lowers it’s own acidity to feel right at home. Kind of like a bullshark switches from salt to fresh water to just generally be a bully that can survive anywhere.
The bottom line? Practice safe food handling techniques. Keep food refrigerated and throw it out when it’s expired. Refrigerate cooked food within 3 hours or keep it at a temperature bacteria won’t grow(yeah, it will dry out and start to suck at that point, so better to just refrigerate after a certain time). Reheat food thoroughly.
I have an iron stomach, I can eat a pizza that has been sitting in the oven from last night. But if one of those clever bacteria survived, it’s FML(fart my life).
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