Premium Essay

How the Body Digests Food

In:

Submitted By daviddudek74
Words 292
Pages 2
The human body uses its organs and glands to process and digest food. The whole process starts with putting food into the mouth and using teeth to chew up the food. As teeth are chewing up the food salivary enzymes which are produced by salivary glands are used to transform food into a bolus which enters the pharynx where it is swallowed. At this point the bolus enters into esophagus which is a tube that links pharynx to the stomach. After the bolus goes through the esophagus it then moves into the stomach. While In the stomach the bolus merges with acid gastric and then becomes partly digested. At this point the bolus mass is changed into chyme. From the stomach the chyme moves into the duodenum which is the beginning of the small intestine. From the beginning part of the small intestine the chyme moves to jejunum. Then the chyme moves to ileum which is the last part of the small intestine. While the chyme is in the small intestine the food digestion and absorption is assisted by production of bile in the liver and then warehoused in the gallbladder. At this point the large intestine becomes part of the process. The bolus passes through a sphincter which is part of the organ that keeps the chyme mixing into both intestines. While in the large intestine the colon absorbs water and vitamins. The whole process ends with the remaining waste which is not absorbed continues through colon then travels into the rectum. From the rectum the remaining chyme travels into the anus and then out.

Reference
How the Digestive System Works. Retrieved on 8/5/11. How stuff works, at

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Human Digestive System

... Digestion is movement of breaking down what food you consume in your body through your mouth into molecules so that the body can absorb it. “Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in our diets must be broken down and later, reassembled in forms useful to our body.” (Carter, 2014) We often eat foods that are hard to digest or we have a problem that won’t allow us to digest foods properly. The digestion process is very important for our bodies to provide the necessary nutrients it needs to survive, but is the most complicated process. Before I take you through the process of the human digestive system, let me tell you about some foods that the body will digest easily and those foods that are hard to digest. If your diet consist of being high in fiber and fats then your body will have problems digesting these foods. Though fiber is supposed to be good for the body, it is also hard to digest. The organs and format that consist of the path that food travels through the human digestive system would consist of the mouth, which food enters and comes in contact with your saliva. The salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, all provide the necessary enzymes from their secretions for the process of the digestive system. When we see and smell food our saliva glands begin the process of the digestive system. After one put food in their mouth the teeth chew the food allowing the food to turn into bolus. Bolus is a mass of soft food after being chewed. The bolus then goes into the...

Words: 773 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Digestive System Works

...The Digestive System and How It Works The digestive system is a unique system that has a unique way of operating. The digestive system is the organs and glands in the body that are responsible for digestion. The digestive system begins with the mouth and extends through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, ending with the rectum and anus. In this paper I plan to show how the digestive system works, the organs and gland that are in the system and there functions. Most of you have heard the expression "you are what you eat. a more accurate statement would be: "you are what you eat, digest, assimilate and incorporate." Although this statement is also obviously less than complete, it does incorporate the very important...

Words: 657 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Lactose Intolerance Research Paper

...intolerant. What is lactose intolerance? Lactose is a type of sugar present in milk and other dairy products. In order to digests lactose body need the enzyme called lactase to break down it.1,2 In people with lactose intolerance, their body is lack of this enzyme and caused the body is not able to digest lactose in stomach. The undigested lactose is fermented in the large bowel and gas by-products make people feel bloating.1,2 How common is lactose intolerance?3 There are around 75% of...

Words: 1438 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Key Organs Of The Digestive System Essay

...1) The salivary glands produce salivary amylase to digest starch. 2) The stomach produces pepsin, which is a protease to digest protein. 3) The pancreas produces: Proteases, to digest protein within the small intestine Pancreatic amylase to digest starch within the small intestine Pancreatic lipase to digest fats the small intestine Part 1: Testing for Macromolecules Hypotheses Food 1 (Junk):maruchan instant soup Food 2 (Junk): Frito chips Food 3 (Junk): Waffle Grahams Food 4 (Healthy): Dried oatmeal’s Food 5 (Healthy): sweet n salty mix Food 6 (Healthy): Banana Directions for Testing 1) Why is it important to use a negative and positive control? It is important to have negative and positive...

Words: 806 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Journey Through the Digestive System

...The Journey through the Digestive System When you enter the food in your mouth you chew the food and swallow, the food travels through your esophagus -- which is the passageway that connects your mouth to your stomach. In the stomach, strong acids and enzymes digest, or break down, the food into small particles. Some of these particles are probably familiar to you. They are called proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. After leaving your stomach, these food particles enter the small intestine. This is a long, continuous tube that slowly contracts, or squeezes, to push the food along through it. As the small intestine continues to digest your food, it absorbs nutrients that your body uses for energy, growth, and repairs. By the time the food reaches the end of the small intestine, almost all of its nutrients have been absorbed. At this point, what's left of the food is mostly water and indigestible waste products. This material then enters the large intestine, or colon, which is also a long tube. Its main job is to remove water from the waste products as they pass through and recycle this water back to your body. After traveling through this area, the waste is held at the end of the colon in the rectum. It will then leave your body through the anus as stool when you have a bowel movement. How firm your stool will be depends on how long it has been in your colon. If the stool moves through quickly, it will be more watery. But if it moves through too slowly, you can become constipated...

Words: 283 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Nhbhnfx

...Digestion SCI/241 At the beginning of the digestive system the sight and the smell of food spurs through the salvia glands. Food is then moistened by the saliva, it is then chewed by the teeth in the mouth as the food enters the mouth it then transforms it into bolus. The bolus leaves the mouth and then travels toward your pharynx, you then swallow the food. It goes from the pharynx and then enters the esophagus it is a tunnel that is inside the body that connects the pharynx and the stomach together. Once the bolus has entered the stomach, it is then soaked with something called acid secretions it does this so that the bolus converts into a kind of liquid form food called chime. The stomach only partially digests the food that you swallow and the chime then vacates the stomach in about two to six hours. It just depends on how long it takes your body to digest the food. The food then goes to the small intestines when it does leave the stomach, in the small intestines the food is digested and absorption of the nutrients starts to occur. Any of the food that is not absorbed while inside the small intestine, then enters the large intestines through the sphincter, which this acts as a barrier that keeps the food from reentering the small intestine. After the food leaves the large intestine it then enters the colon and the rectum, in which both occupy the large intestine. The parts of the food that is water and certain types of vitamins and minerals get absorbed while it is in...

Words: 314 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Food Journal

...following questions. Your response to each question should be 75 to 100 words. |What is nutrition? Why is nutrition essential to our daily lives? | |Nutrition is the study if food at work in our bodies, also a source of energy, and he medium to which our nutrients are able to | |function. Nutrition can also be considered our building blocks of life. Nutrition is essential in our daily lives because it | |applies to our living and well-being. We take in what it is that we need to help maintain our body’s healthy state. Nutrition is | |often referred to the nurturing of our body and our ability to keep it healthy and functioning as our body is supposed to. | |What is the connection between nutrition and health? | |Good health is mainly dependent upon good nutrition. Doctors are able to trace our body’s physical and emotional ailments back to| |our diet and see what vitamins and minerals our body is low on. Food went from being considered a necessity to simply saying that| |we need it to function. Having the right amount of nutrition will help to optimize our health and that by making sure our body is| |getting enough of the proper vitamins as as well as minerals will help lower the risk of diseases. | |What is the relationship between poor nutrition and disease? ...

Words: 1051 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Fiber

...nutrient known as roughage needed to help digest food. Fiber can be found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Fiber should be part of our diet in order to keep our digestive system regular and healthy. Fiber isn't digested by your body. Instead, it passes relatively intact through your stomach, small intestine, and colon and out of your body (Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Health Diet, 2013). Lack of fiber can bring discomfort and health issues. What are the benefits of fiber and the problems with a low-fiber diet which include problems outside of the GI tract?  Benefits of a high fiber diet for example are 1) Fiber keeps the body regular, helps pass stool easier, prevents constipation, and solidifies the stool because fiber absorbs water and adds bulk to the stool 2) Fiber can lower cholesterols levels such as beans, oats, and flaxseeds which are soluble fiber and may lower blood cholesterol levels by lowering bad cholesterol 3) Fiber maintains bowel health because fiber ferments in the colon and can help prevent hemorrhoids and diverticular diseases 4) Fiber can aid with weight loss because high fiber food need to be chewed more, which gives the body time to absorb and can make you feel full. (Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Health Diet, 2013) The reason people have to limit their fiber intake due surgery, inflammatory disease, or narrowing of the bowel is because some food fiber doesn’t digest and stays in the intestines. How much fiber should the average person get...

Words: 778 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Bio Notes

...Digestive system -- 4 main functions being performed - Mechanically break downs food, with teeth, tongue, smooth muscle in digestive _____ - Chemically break down food with enzymes: acids - Reabsorb tiny particles from small intestines into capillaries surrounding sore intestine - Expel waste : indigestible material, excess lipids, excess H2O, dead cells: bacteria Parts of digestive system MouthPharynxesophagus esophageal sphincter Stomach Mouth- teeth break down food, tongue forms it into a ball of chewed food called a bolus. Secrete saliva- - has salivary amylase (enzyme) break down carbohydrates - also has lysozyme enzyme to attack bacteria - contain H2O to help lubricate bolus as we swallow Pharynx- leads to both respiratory (larynx) : digestive (esophagus) systems Esophagus- Z layers of smooth muscle which contract in wave-like contraction called peristalsis Esophageal sphincter - smooth muscle which allows bolus to enter the stomach (if sphincter allows acid “chime” (bolus that entered stomach) back up into esophagus; it is called heatburn/ GE reflex) Stomach- 3 layers of smooth muscle which clowne up the chyme (chewed food) + enzymes to help digest: pepsin help digest proteins: to help digest lipids Gastric acid also help break down chyme Stomach line with mucus so that we don’t digest our own stomach lining too fast; we still need to replace stomach lining calls: continually We secrete a hormone called Ghrelin from the stomach that is an appetite...

Words: 1077 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Mechanical Digestion Research Paper

...first bite of food. Your teeth carry out the first stage of mechanical digestion. Your center teeth, or incisors, cut the food into bite-sized pieces. On the either side of the incisors are sharp, pointy teeth called canines. These teeth tear and slash the food in your mouth into smaller pieces. Like mechanical digestion, chemical digestion begins in the mouth. If you take a bite of a cracker and roll it around your mouth, the crackers begins to taste sweet. It tastes sweet because a chemical in the saliva has broken down the starch in the cracker in to...

Words: 1236 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Exercising and Eating Healthy

...the main importance and ensures you of living a healthy and long life. Adapting to both can things can make a dramatic difference in how you look and feel. It can also prevent many things such as being obese, which is the most common thing that happens when you eat unhealthy every day and not getting exercising. The rate obesity is getting higher and higher every day. Even if you are a small person in general, you may not think you need to eat healthy and exercise, but it is the best way to keep your body fit and healthy at the same time. It is also very important to maintain a healthy diet. Even with proper exercise, an unhealthy diet can cause all the hard work and effort you are putting into your routine to go to waste. Eat and try different types of fruits, vegetables, meats, and a lot of protein. Try and eat a variety of food, but stay away from the sweets as best as you can. You must maintain a healthy balance of food and drink. You should at least drink 8 glasses of water each day. Make sure to eat at least 3 meals a day. If you do not do this, you may find yourself snacking on junk food in-between meals, which neglects the point of the diet in the first place. By eating more you will be eating less junk food throughout the day. You have to play against your mind and take every advantage you can to stay away from fattening foods, even though it can be a hard task to overcome. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day with lunch being the least important...

Words: 1284 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Human Digestive System

...Human Digestion System “The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients to feed the entire body” (Taylor). The process of digestion begins when food enters your mouth. Using your teeth to chew the foods in to small pieces and then mixing with saliva, your tongue pushes the food down the throat or pharynx. The saliva in your mouth moistens the food and contains salivary amylase that breaks down carbohydrates into simple carbohydrates. From the pharynx the food travels down the esophagus through the cardiac spincter to the stomach. The cardiac spincter is a ring located at the top of the stomach that opens when swallowing then closes again to trap food in the stomach. Taylor notes that the stomach contains hydrocloric acid and digestive enzymes that continues the digestion of food (2010). Hydrocloric acid kills the bacteria in food and begins to chemically break down food. From the stomach the food passes to the small intestion where 90% of the digestion of nutrients takes place. The liver produces bile and secretes it into the small intestion which then combines with digestive chemicals from the pancreas to complete the digestive process with chemical digestion of foods. A mixture of digestive juices from the pancreas digests protiens, nucleic acid, lipids and charbohydrates. By the time the food has left the small intestines, all of the nutrients have been reduced into chemical building blocks and absorbed into the system...

Words: 420 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Clocks Within Us Analysis

...The Clocks Within Us Analysis According to the article published in the February 2015 edition of the Scientific American, genes in the brain, liver, pancreas, and other tissues help keep the various parts of the body in sync. These ideas are portrayed throughout the article written by Keith C. Summa and Fred W. Turek, “The Clocks Within Us.” The article is based around circadian rhythms, which describes how the body works around 24-hour cycles. Both authors are extremely validated when it comes to informing the public on circadian rhythms. Summa is a PhD at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and is interested in understanding how to apply research findings to clinical medicine. Turek is a neurobiologist and director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology at Northwestern. He is also the founding president of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. Learning more about the different clocks in the body can help explain bodily disruptions caused by out of sync cellular clocks. Circadian rhythms are important in the world of biology because of their effects on one’s health. When all the clocks in our body are not in sync, we can experience diabetes, depression, obesity, and more. The clocks could fall out of sync when sleep and eating patterns falter. This information could have been presented in the Scientific American, a popular magazine that is read by many people across the nation, because many people change their daily patterns. For example...

Words: 890 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Cardiovascular System

...The heart pumps oxygen and blood around your body allowing you to survive. It transports carbon dioxide which is a waste product from your body to your lungs. When you breathe out, carbon dioxide is removed from your body. Three main functions: Transportation - The system transports blood to most of the bodies tissues. In the blood there is special nutrients and oxygen which help us develop and breathe. Waste is removed and hormones are transported through the body with the help of the liquid. Protection - The cardiovascular system helps to protect the body with the help of the white blood cells. These cells fight pathogens that have entered your body, this is because they could become harmful to your body. Platelets and red blood cells form a scab which seal wounds. The blood carries antibodies that help with immunity. This can include vaccinations that you have already had or something you are fighting off. Regulation - If you have any internal conditions, the cardiovascular system helps maintain it. Blood vessels help keep your body temperature right. They do this by controlling the blood flow to the surface of the skin. When the body overheats, blood vessels near the skin open up which allows blood to let go of its heat. If your body suffers from hypothermia your blood vessels open and close to keep blood flowing. This will help the organs keep going. Your blood also helps to keep the pH the same. Blood: An average body contains around 4 to 5 litres of blood. It’s...

Words: 1607 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Cardiovacular System

...The heart pumps oxygen and blood around your body allowing you to survive. It transports carbon dioxide which is a waste product from your body to your lungs. When you breathe out, carbon dioxide is removed from your body. Three main functions: Transportation - The system transports blood to most of the bodies tissues. In the blood there is special nutrients and oxygen which help us develop and breathe. Waste is removed and hormones are transported through the body with the help of the liquid. Protection - The cardiovascular system helps to protect the body with the help of the white blood cells. These cells fight pathogens that have entered your body, this is because they could become harmful to your body. Platelets and red blood cells form a scab which seal wounds. The blood carries antibodies that help with immunity. This can include vaccinations that you have already had or something you are fighting off. Regulation - If you have any internal conditions, the cardiovascular system helps maintain it. Blood vessels help keep your body temperature right. They do this by controlling the blood flow to the surface of the skin. When the body overheats, blood vessels near the skin open up which allows blood to let go of its heat. If your body suffers from hypothermia your blood vessels open and close to keep blood flowing. This will help the organs keep going. Your blood also helps to keep the pH the same. Blood: An average body contains around 4 to 5 litres of blood. It’s...

Words: 1607 - Pages: 7