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Acid Stomach

One of the wonders of our digestive system is the way our stomach wall resists chemical attack. The stomach can dissolve beef and gristle that is far tougher than the stomach wall itself.

The average adult stomach holds about three litres of gastric fluid, which comes from glands in the lining of the stomach. Gastric fluid is concentrated hydrochloric acid! Hydrochloric acid is so corrosive that it can quickly dissolve metals and eat right through a piece of wood.

If, like me, you occasionally enjoy some tripe or sausage, you are actually digesting animal stomachs and intestines. You would have to boil such things in strong acid for a considerable time to do what the stomach does quickly at the body's normal temperature.

So how does the stomach keep from digesting itself? The lining of the stomach produces not only hydrochloric acid, but also some equally powerful alkaline substances, like ammonia and bicarbonate. These substances are called bases, and they neutralize the acid secreted by the cells in the stomach wall. It is the continuous supply of such alkaline substances that protects the stomach from digesting itself. In some people an over production of acid can overwhelm the alkaline defense system, and the result is a gastric ulcer.

So next time you enjoy a large steak, be grateful you have an acid stomach.

Stomach chemistry depends on the right balance. Too much acid produces ulcers on the stomach lining. Too little acid reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of the digestive system. Both conditions lead to problems.

Balance is also an issue in many other aspects of life. Brushing our teeth is a good thing. It reduces the opportunities for dental decay to get a foothold and our friends appreciate it. But obsessive brushing has been known to wear away the tooth enamel, leaving it worse off than it would have been with just a few cavities to worry about.

Exercise is a good way of staying healthy and extending our physical life. But some pursue it with so much vigour that they damage joints and tendons to such a degree that they must stop.

Balance between the emotions and the intellect is also important. Those who are extreme on the emotion side chronically make decisions which lead them into all kinds of problems because they didn’t think through the consequences. Those who favour the intellect may make more defensible decisions, but may well leave a trail of shattered relationships in their wake.

Balance in any area of life requires some effort. It takes some planning, and then some action. But it is always worth it.

One of the hardest things for us to do is find the appropriate balance between the physical and the spiritual dimensions of life. To be sure, there are a few individuals who are so caught up in the spiritual realm that they neglect important aspects of their physical life.

For the majority, the opposite is true. We are so focussed on the physical – maintaining the machine and stimulating the sensors – that we fail to think of the spiritual dimension at all. Consequently, we neglect important aspects of life which really need our attention.

Humans are spiritual creatures. Recent studies show that the human brain is designed with a spiritual capacity. God put us together in such a way as to be aware of the spiritual realm and to be able to interact with it. Our Creator made us for relationship with Himself; that requires moving our focus from the purely physical to include the spiritual.

David Humphreys and Ron Hughes