Role of Acid in Our Stomach

The stomach is an important organ in our digestive system. It is a muscular sac that helps in breaking down the food we eat into smaller particles so that they can be easily absorbed by our body. The acid in our stomach plays a crucial role in this process. Let's take a closer look at its role:

Protection against harmful bacteria
- The acid in our stomach is extremely acidic with a pH of approximately 1.5 to 3.5.
- This high acidity helps in killing harmful bacteria and other microorganisms that might be present in the food we eat.
- It also helps in preventing the growth of these bacteria in our stomach and intestines.

Breakdown of proteins
- The acid in our stomach also helps in breaking down the proteins present in the food we eat.
- It activates an enzyme called pepsinogen, which is secreted by the stomach lining.
- Pepsinogen is converted into pepsin, which helps in breaking down the proteins into smaller peptides.

Activation of other enzymes
- The acid in our stomach also activates other digestive enzymes such as lipase and amylase.
- These enzymes help in breaking down fats and carbohydrates respectively.

Absorption of nutrients
- The acid in our stomach also helps in the absorption of certain nutrients such as calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.
- It helps in releasing these nutrients from the food we eat and making them available for absorption in the small intestine.

In conclusion, the acid in our stomach plays a crucial role in the digestion and absorption of the food we eat. It helps in protecting our body from harmful bacteria, breaking down proteins, activating other digestive enzymes, and absorbing essential nutrients.

There are two major roles of HCL which are as follows:1)It kills harmful germs2)It creates the medium of stomach acidic to activate pepsinogen (de active form of pepsin)