I heard that humans can’t actually digest meat, so it just rots in our stomachs for a couple of days until it is small enough to pass through the intestines…is that true?
Nope.
Nope. It’s bubble gum that we can’t digest. And corn. And very small rocks.
Sounds like PETA propaganda. It’s completely false. Our digestive system is well-designed to handle meat, and most of us can digest it just fine. Actually, meat is easier to digest than tougher plant material, which is why carnivores typically have shorter intestines than herbivores. We are omnivores, and the length of our intestines is between that of the strict carnivore and the strict herbivore.
The big rocks digest quite easily, especially when mixed with spider eggs.
Rotting implies bacteria or mold, neither of which do well in the strong acid found in your stomach.
That’s pretty much the exact opposite of the truth. Not much is easier to digest than meat. If we couldn’t digest meat, we wouldn’t get any energy from it either.
I’ll wager that this gem of information came from a militant vegetarian. And, ironically enough, it appears to be 100% bovine in origin.
Proteases such as trypsin and pepsin do a very good job of digesting animal protein.
I digest salt pretty well.
Well in a way it does rot, if you define rot as being broken down by biological action. When we usually think of something rotting what actually happens is microbes release enzymes to break down the food into simple components which they can absorb. This is what happens with us too, we release enzymes to break down the meat, so we can absorb the nutrients. If you were to remove this partially digested meat and place it on the table, you would think it was rotted.
And just as I was getting ready to eat lunch.
You just think you do. The reality is that it sits in your colon forever and ever. At least, that’s what my PETA girlfriend told me.
Damn, I’d like a steak.
Which, of course, is exactly the same way we digest plants. In short, digestion = rotting for a broad definition of the latter.
True enough, but a minor nitpick, some of what we eat is not directly broken down by us, but partially digested (rotted) by microbes in the digestive tract, then we get the nutrients in this partially digested (rotted) food. IIRC plants are far more likely to be pre-digested (pre-rotted) by microbes in our digestive tract then meats, and the reason for the longer digestive tract of herbivores, the microbes need to have time to work then the animal has to further break down the food and absorb it.
So, again if my memory is serving me, if anything plants are what rots by the action of microbes inside our gut, meat is directly broken down by us, which arguably could also be considered rotted.
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As all have said, this is not true. Could you please tell us where you heard this statement?
Jim
Yes, we’re all quite curious.
But do the spider eggs know they are being digested? Would it make any difference if they did?
My Google skills may be weak, but I’ll note that it seems challenging to find much in the way of discussions of rotting that extend to include digestion.
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