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What Produces Stomach Acid?

The stomach produces digestive acids that cause the burning and gnawing of the stomach or upper abdomen, an inflammation called gastritis. The pancreas and intestines also produce digestive acids. The body produces different quantities of stomach acid, depending on the kind and amount of food a person eats.

  1. How Stomach Acids Are Produced

    • Special cells in the stomach, parietal cells, produce gastric acid, which is mostly hydrochloric acid with some potassium chloride and sodium chloride.

    What Stomach Acids Do

    • Acid is needed to break down food so that the body can use it for energy, building muscle and tissue, and maintaining health. This process, called digestion, begins in the mouth when you chew and is completed in the intestines.

    Foods That Produce Stomach Acid

    • The longer a food stays in the stomach, the more stomach acid is required to digest it.
      Carbohydrates including rice, potatoes, bread, pasta, peas, beans, vegetables and fruit spend the least amount of time in the stomach and therefore produce the least amount of acid. Both the sugars and starch in these foods are easily digested.
      Stomach acids help begin the digestion of eggs, beans, meat and other proteins. Protein remains in the stomach longer than carbohydrates, but not as long as fats.
      Fats stay in the stomach the longest and require the most stomach acid to begin the digestive process.

    Size of Meals

    • The stomach produces more acid to digest large meals. Those who have problems with excess stomach acid are advised to avoid eating three large meals a day, and instead eat several smaller meals.

    Stress

    • If you're in a constant state of stress, your body shuts down digestive enzymes so you can deal with other problems. You still have to eat. The food stays in your body longer, so your stomach produces more acid.

    Bile

    • The liver produces an acid called bile that helps digest fats. Bile, stored in your gall bladder on the right side of your abdomen, travels to your small intestine to aid digestion there. If a valve on the gall bladder doesn't work, the acidic bile can spill into your stomach.

    Stomach-Acid Myths

    • Milk has long been thought by many to coat the stomach and relieve problems caused by stomach acid. In fact, it can cause the production of more stomach acids during sleep.
      In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers at Stanford University found that avoiding citrus fruits, spicy foods and coffee does nothing to curtail the production of stomach acid. They concluded that persons suffering from excess stomach acid should eat less and prop their head up when they sleep.

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