# Oral sex . . . swallowing . . . and DNA (possibly TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388 "2010-09-11T07:01:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/1 "2010-09-11T07:01:30Z")
Following oral sex, what happens to the sperm, or specifically the DNA, when it’s swallowed? Does it break down in the stomach, and what exactly does it become? And do these substances get utilized by the body, or passed through and expelled in the urine or feces? So, for how long after the “event” does my DNA actually exist in my partner’s body? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/2 "2010-09-11T08:10:58Z")
DNA is just made out of amino acids. And every other meat you eat (as 'twere) is made of cells, which have nuclei, which contain DNA. Sperm’s not exceptional in that respect. I imagine it’s as digestible as any other uncooked meat, and the more so since it’s already being served up at the unicellular level. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/3 "2010-09-11T08:23:15Z")
Didn’t your mother warn you that swallowed cum stays in the stomach for 7 years? Or was that **g** um? I’ll have to call my Ma in the morning and ask her. ---
**Author:** ![AnnaKareninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@AnnaKareninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaKareninja)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/4 "2010-09-11T08:50:14Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > DNA is just made out of amino acids. And every other meat you eat (as 'twere) is made of cells, which have nuclei, which contain DNA. Sperm’s not exceptional in that respect. I imagine it’s as digestible as any other uncooked meat, and the more so since it’s already being served up at the unicellular level. DNA is made out of nucleotides (a pentose sugar ring, a phosphate and a nitrogenous base), whereas amino acids joined together would make a protein. Chromosomes are made from one DNA molecule and histone proteins, they’re bonded by the negatively charged phophate groups on the nucleotides and the positive z-groups of the amino acids. DNA would be degraded in stomach acid. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/5 "2010-09-11T08:50:15Z")
My guess would be about the same as yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/6 "2010-09-11T09:26:45Z")
Almost any food contains DNA, because it comes from plants or animals. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/7 "2010-09-11T11:09:34Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Sperm’s not exceptional in that respect. I imagine it’s as digestible as any other uncooked meat You’re assuming it hasn’t been [pan-fried](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=198659)? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/8 "2010-09-11T11:53:45Z")
Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. It gets broken down to the level of nucleotides or beyond, IIRC, which get absorbed and used in your own body in some way. Nucleotides can get broken down and atoms shuffled around into other molecules in a huge metabolic web. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/9 "2010-09-11T11:58:52Z")
I think it’s likely that once the DNA in whatever you ingest gets broken down to the building block level, it will get used to rewrite your own genome for/in whatever cells are still being replenished by cell division. Which is an oddly impressive thought for me, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/10 "2010-09-11T12:31:26Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. Really? Where’s the DNA in, say, meringue, or rock candy? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/11 "2010-09-11T12:33:58Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. Actually, a lot of stuff we eat does not contain any DNA: sugar, oil, alcohol, etc. As far as reusing the molecules, it’s even more impressive that an ant can do this with whatever it manages to scrounge up and ingest. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/12 "2010-09-11T12:38:10Z")
All right, fine. That was wrong. It’d be more accurate to say that everything we eat _came_ from something with DNA, apart from salt and water. I look forward to a list of other exceptions I hadn’t thought of. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/13 "2010-09-11T13:25:33Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > All right, fine. That was wrong. It’d be more accurate to say that everything we eat _came_ from something with DNA, apart from salt and water. Apart from salt, which you’ve already mentioned, there are lots of food additives and flavourings which are synthesized or which are obtained from inorganic sources. But I can’t think of anything apart from water which we ingest in large quantities and which doesn’t come from something with DNA. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/14 "2010-09-11T16:57:16Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. And Kraft American Slices. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/15 "2010-09-11T18:15:20Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > > [@Smeghead](#): > > > > Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. > > And Kraft American Slices. People _eat_ those? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/16 "2010-09-11T18:25:19Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:15, topic:553388”] > [@BigBertha](#): > > And Kraft American Slices. People _eat_ those? :eek: [/QUOTE] I use 'em to patch holes in the wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/17 "2010-09-11T18:27:20Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:15, topic:553388”] > [@BigBertha](#): > > And Kraft American Slices. People _eat_ those? :eek: [/QUOTE] But they don’t swallow it. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/18 "2010-09-11T22:55:27Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > All right, fine. That was wrong. It’d be more accurate to say that everything we eat _came_ from something with DNA, apart from salt and water. Both salt and water have been cycled fast enough and for long enough that any salt or water you may consume also came from something with DNA. The mayterial may have been liberated and filtered since then, but the same is true dairy products, sugar and a whole slew of other foods. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/19 "2010-09-12T01:05:59Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > > [@Smeghead](#): > > > > Everything you eat contains DNA, with the exception of salt and water. > > Actually, a lot of stuff we eat does not contain any DNA: sugar, oil, alcohol, etc. > > As far as reusing the molecules, it’s even more impressive that an ant can do this with whatever it manages to scrounge up and ingest. Do ants do what the OP suggested too? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-sex-swallowing-and-dna-possibly-tmi/553388/20 "2010-09-12T15:57:20Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Do ants do what the OP suggested too? If you are asking if Ants take in food and break it down into molecules to use to make up [Nucleotides](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleotide)and DNA. Yes, yes they do. Plants do this as well with CO2, sunlight, nitrogen and phosphate.