It is a known fact that the acidic environment in the stomach serves several purposes, such as providing suitable conditions for primary chemical digestion of food molecules and protection from certain kinds of infections which may be caused by bacteria taken in with the food - I'm not giving any specific reference, any basic gastrointestinal system physiology text will give this information and more.
My question relates to the latter role I mentioned above: about the stomach being most acidic when in the fasted state (i.e. the period between about 2 hours after eating and eating again).
- This article describes a stomach pH of 1.7 in the fasted state and a pH level of 6.7 shortly after eating
My question: If I'm about to eat food that is potentially contaminated by bacteria, would it be better if I wait until I'm well into the fasted state (i.e., very hungry) in order to minimize the risk of indigestion or any other adverse outcome of eating spoiled food? If so, would the reason be because my stomach is as acidic as possible in that state?
