• Question: What does your stomach use to kill microbes?

    Asked by jessymoo to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Gastric acid ..pH2 some bacteria survive by being inside food as it goes through, others by producing a cloud of ammonia that projects ..a few like Helicobacter can corkscrew their way into the mucus layer of our stomach that is less acidic..but most just die

    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      The stomach is very acidic and is not a good environment for microbes in general. Most microbes live in the gut rather than the stomach.

      The majority of microbes that live in our guts are good fos us and benefit us greatly by producing many useful vitamins and helping the function of the gut. They also out-compete and eliminate harmless microbes that may get into our guts. Sometimes when the normal conditions of our guts change and our good bacteria get killed then our gut does not function properly and we end up with cramps and discomfort.

      So not all microbes are bad. many microbes are good for us and are part of us helping us to maintain a healthy gut.

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Acid (pH around 1-3) and digestive enzymes is the simple answer, but not all bacteria are killed off in the stomach.
      Some bacteria live in our stomachs anyway and are adapted to live in such a harsh environment. Some are ‘good’ bacteria and help digest our food, but disease causing ones (pathogens) can live there too, but not all the time or we’d be sick constantly. A bug called Heliobacter pylori is known to give you ulcers.

      Here’s an old news article I found, that you might like to read
      http://www.livescience.com/health/060105_stomach_bacteria.html

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Most microbes will be killed by the acidic environment in the stomach, however some do survive and can be killed by antibiotics. One bacteria in the stomach H.Pylori can cause ulcers if it is not removed.

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      The major way the stomach kills microbes is by secreting stomach acid. The acid in the stomach is important in the first stages of digesting food, but also acts to kill a lot of food-borne microbes that could potentially harm us.

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