Acid Ingestion

name        Bridget L.
status       student
grade        4-5
location     TX

Question -   Hi see i was wondering if acid is added to your
stomach by drinking beverages such as coke, sprite, pepsi. and lemonade?
What happens to the acid? is it digested? How does it get out of
your stomach and what does it do to your stomach? If you could
please answer where i can understand it would be really great.
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Bridget,

Acid is already present in very high concentrations in your stomach.  It is
HCl (hydrochloric acid) that is present in your stomach and helps digest
food to a large extent.  Hydrochloric acid is a very strong acid, much
stronger than what is present in sodas and other drinks.  When carbon
dioxide is dissolved in water (to create carbonated water, ie soda) the
carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid, which is a weak acid.  The weak acids
don't have the digestion power/reactivity to start breaking your food apart,
so when they end up in your stomach they really don't change the environment
all that much.  Hydrochloric acid is actually quite corrosive and it eats
the lining of your stomach consistantly!  Your stomach lining is constantly
being regenerated though, so you usually don't have to worry about it.  When
parts of your stomach lining do not get replaced, you develop a condition
called an ulcer and it is painful feeling in your gut when you develop one.

You have a muscle called the cardiac sphincter that closes off your throat
and esophogus from your stomach.  When this muscle doesn't shut off the
passage completely, your stomach acid can travel up your esophogus and cause
a burning sensation, which we called heart burn.  This can be soothed by
eating antacids (the opposite of an acid is a base), which is simply calcium
carbonate and will neutralize the acid.  Stomach acid is also the culprate
of the burning feeling in your mouth and throat after you vomit.  You
stomach acid helps in many ways and can hurt you in many other ways, as I
have explained.  The body keeps the amount of acid fairly consistant, though
I cannot tell you the exact pathway by which this regulation occurs.

Matt Voss
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The acid content in such drinks slightly elevates the already acid
content of the stomach.... this can be a problem if a person is taking
medications that need a certain pH enviroment....But more so if a
person has gastric reflux or stomach uolcers this added acid can
further cause distress.

The balance of these drinks are broken down, much of which is passed
through as waste products.... In some cases the work in breaking down
the drink can in fact further lead to dehydration.in the long run as
opposed to refreshing some one.

H.P.
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