Digestion Series: Part 4 - Stomach acid

With chyme in the stomach, it is time to start breaking it down into smaller components that can move to the small intestine. This involves several different chemical processes that involve #gastric juice.

Gastric juice is a complex mixture, and each "ingredient" plays a role in helping #digestion. For example, mucins are #proteins that help provide lubrication for passing food, are involved in cell signaling, and protect the stomach lining from microorganisms, pathogens, toxins and environmental irritants.

Other components of gastric juice include inorganic (mineral) salts, hydrochloric acid (HCl) and digestive #enzymes such as #lipase and pepsinogens/pepsins.

Why does the stomach needs to be so #acidic?

An acidic environment is required to #denature (unfold) large proteins. Pepsinogen is an inactive digestive enzyme that is secreted by the stomach wall. When pepsinogen comes into contact with hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach, it is converted into the active digestive enzyme called #pepsin.

Pepsin begins the process of protein breakdown by a process known as "cleaving", or breaking a protein down into smaller pieces known as large #peptide fragments and some free amino acids. Pepsin works with chymotrypsin and trypsin to then "cleave" the peptides further into smaller peptide fragments and amino acids.

For those of you keeping track of the digestive enzymes that we have discussed so far, here is the current list and their related #YoungLiving products:

Amylase - #Allerzyme, #Detoxzyme, #Essentialzymes-4 and #MightyZyme

Pepsin - created naturally in the stomach's acidic environment

Lipase - Allerzyme, Detoxzyme, Essentialzymes-4 and MightyZyme

Trypsin - #Essentialzyme