How to describe your stomach’s strong digestive ability in one sentence?

I once accidentally ate a nail and rushed to the hospital for a check-up, but the doctor couldn't find any trace of the nail? Is this a joke? Not entirely, there is a certain scientific reason. With this question, let’s talk about gastric juice. The digestive capacity of the stomach

When is gastric acid the strongest?

The secretion of gastric acid has a cyclical rhythm. It is secreted less during fasting. Under the normal cyclic rhythm, it begins to be secreted about half an hour before meals to stimulate appetite. With the stimulation of eating, the amount of secretion will increase. Larger, so gastric acid secretion will be more after a meal than before a meal.

The human stomach continues to secrete gastric acid, so how does gastric acid change throughout the day? Gastric acid changes day and night. The secretion peaks a few hours after falling asleep and is the lowest in the morning before waking up.

The gastric acid in gastric juice can kill bacteria in food, ensure the safety of the stomach and intestines, and increase the activity of pepsin to help digestion. There is no doubt that stomach acid has the ability to digest food, but can it digest metallic iron? Most of the pure gastric juice is free hydrochloric acid, with a pH value of 0.9~1.5, which is a strong acid. A normal adult's daily gastric juice secretion is about 1.5~2.5L.

Theoretically, hydrochloric acid can react with active metals, but the reaction rate will not be very fast. Iron is a relatively active metal. It ranks before hydrogen in the order of metal activity. It has relatively active chemical properties and is a good reducing agent.

Therefore, iron nails can be gradually replaced by hydrogen gas under the action of hydrochloric acid. This rate is related to the actual strength of gastric acid (before or after meals), contact area, temperature and other factors. But what is certain is that if the peristalsis of the stomach is not considered, the stomach acid will eventually completely dissolve the iron nail. How to determine the strength of your digestion ability?

1. Mouth. Normal people's lips are usually red, shiny, and elastic. If your lips are white and often dry and peeling, you should pay attention to a spleen and stomach problem. When the spleen is deficient, the biochemistry of qi and blood is insufficient, the skin loses nourishment, and the capillaries of the lips are abundant, the reaction will be obvious, such as peeling and dullness. In addition, when the digestive function of the spleen and stomach is weakened, symptoms such as bad breath and drooling while sleeping are prone to occur.

2. Abnormal stool. When stomach fire is severe, water is easily consumed, which reduces body fluids. After being absorbed by the large and small intestines, the stool becomes dry and hard, causing constipation. On the contrary, there are also shapeless and loose stools, which is a problem of spleen and stomach deficiency. Insufficient spleen yang and stomach yang, excessive yin and cold in the interior, imbalance of water and dampness transport and transformation, are usually accompanied by symptoms such as fear of coldness and pain in the stomach.

3. Dark circles and puffy eyes. The location of bags under the eyes is the starting point of the stomach meridian. When the spleen and stomach are not harmonious and the qi and blood are turbid, dark circles will easily form. In addition, the spleen governs the transportation and transformation of water and dampness. If the spleen is deficient, water and dampness will stagnate, causing eye swelling. So don’t simply think that dark circles and edema are liver and kidney problems. Poor spleen and stomach can also cause these symptoms.

Through the above three manifestations, everyone can self-examine to see whether their spleen and stomach functions are sound. Introduction to Dr. Bu Yao

Ph.D. in life sciences, licensed pharmacist, senior nutritionist, protects life and health, rejects fake health regimen, and takes care of you to maintain a healthy you!