DIGESTING THE LIVING: ZOMBIE STOMACH ACID

Many of the experts and members of our official Advisory Board have discussed the apparent desire for zombies to feast on the flesh of the living. In fact, the scientific opinion is that these attacks, scratches, and bites are ultimately a means to simply spread their deadly infection. However, the idea that the undead actually eat and ingest their victims is ubiquitous, and we were eventually forced to focus our studies on the biology of zombie cannibalism itself.

Our research regarding the jaw strength required to literally bite through a human skull may have dispelled the concept that zombies eat human brains. But they are certainly able to tear our flesh, chew meat, and swallow blood. The zombie decay theory also suggests that many biological functions continue to operate at various stages before eventually decomposing or failing completely. So what about the stomach; can the living dead even digest their victims?

The purpose of our stomach and digestive tract is obviously to break down food that provides our bodies with nutrition and energy. It’s unclear whether zombies still require this biological function to survive. Instead, lets focus on their habit of eating human flesh and assume that they are able to swallow pieces of their victims. The digestive process itself is surprisingly fast!

When you swallow food, it travels down your throat through a tube called the esophagus. The food arrives at your stomach mixed with saliva in a small lump called a bolus. Enzymes in the saliva already start to break down the food for digestion. Once in the stomach, hydrochloric acid and more digestive enzymes break the food down. The acid in the stomach is strong — around pH 1. This helps digest the food as quickly as possible, avoiding problems that might occur by allowing the food to sit and rot in the stomach.

As this article from Peter Mitchell at Livestrong.com suggests, unless there is a very specific medical condition, our bodies often process food within a few hours. But of course, being a walking corpse certainly qualifies as a dangerous medical condition! And we aren’t exactly discussing a normal, regular, or healthy diet when considering the average zombie dinner.

Stomach acid is actually so powerful that it can dissolve metal. And scientific research has recently shown that humans are capable of digesting bone itself. Despite our inability to digest blood, we can certainly swallow a tremendous amount before becoming nauseous or sick. So zombies can bite, chew, swallow and perhaps even process the flesh of their victims.

Assuming the biological functions of the undead are still working in some capacity; zombies may have the ability to digest your flesh in the same way that we devour a steak. However, the protein contained in raw meat might be harder for our stomach acid to break down. It has even been suggested that certain proteins could require extra water or fluids. But zombies would almost certainly swallow a tremendous amount of blood while consuming their victims.

Of course, if this viscera simply rots in their stomach, the living dead would eventually bloat and possibly even “explode” in a sense. Therefore, the theory that zombies actually eat and digest the living must also consider how they pass the remaining bits of carcass, blood, and gasses from their system. And that is not really something that we are overly-excited about discussing right now… so perhaps we’ll just save that gruesome topic for some other time.

Ultimately, the undead simply do not need to eat or digest their victims in order to spread the inevitable zombie virus. A bite or scratch alone would be enough to contaminate our blood, spread a disease, and infect a survivor. The relentlessly aggressive nature of the living dead would instead be a side-effect. Perhaps it does help their bodily functions continue in some way after death. But their cannibalistic tendencies are probably more akin to something like rabies or a severe mental illness that directly affects the central nervous system and behavior.

Regardless of the purpose or function, zombies can eat and digest you. In fact, they almost certainly will. But the Zombie Research Society will always continue to study the living dead and search for the answers. Because we have always said… what you don’t know can eat you!