this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
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Our stomach acidity is pretty low too.
Looking it up I just read that our gastric acid is produced at PH 0.8
It's immediately increased to PH 1.5 by the other gastric juices, then is increased more as it is used to digest
People who eat one or two meals a day probably have very acidic stomach acid at each meal; those who snack constantly or eat 5 meals a day probably never see strong stomach acid except maybe at breakfast
A vulture has gastric acid with a pH of approximately 1. Which is equivalent to 100% pure hydrochloric acid.
The acidic component of a human's gastric acid is hydrochloric acid. The overall pH of our gastric acid is between 1 and 3, which is similar to carrion eating carnivores and lower than most mammals.
However, the secretion of acid in the stomach (in humans) is tightly regulated by the body, with acid being secreted during digestion and then neutralized after the fact.
So, someone who eats a lot will have gastric juices with a more consistently low pH. Unless you just really like chowing down on baking soda and lye, in which case, why?
Wikipedia: Gastric Acid
Funny. The thing I found said the stomach acid was strongest in a fasted state, I didn't read its reference for that state, 'cause I don't usually bother reading too deeply on what amounts to a "humans are pretty remarkable" comment.
Incidentally I don't like Wikipedia on anything diet or digestion related as they are not allowed to reference primary research, and what makes it to newspapers is the information with money behind it. I don't want Coca-Cola and Unilever's take on human health.