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The process of converting insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules is called digestion, this breakdown of food molecules will help the body to absorb nutrients into the blood plasma which can be converted into energy and the wastage is removed by your body. So how does food digest in a step-by-step process?
Your Digestive system consists of 5 main parts:
- Mouth
- Esophagus
- Stomach
- Small Intestine
- Large Intestine
How Does Food Digest?
When you eat food the first action of your body is chewing, when you are chewing food the glands that present in your mouth releases saliva, which helps to grind heavy chunks of food into squishy consistency. Saliva can also be referred to as a digestive liquid that can break down the starches in your food with the enzymes present in it. When you swallow your food it passes through the esophagus, the passage that connects your mouth and stomach, then this food reaches a gate called the lower esophageal sphincter which opens and lets the food into the stomach.
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When food reaches the stomach, acids present in it will break down
the food even more. This process produces a soft mixture of partially digested food and gastric juices, called chyme, and then this mixture passes to the small intestine. Other digestive juices are added to the food mix produced by your pancreas and liver inside the small intestine. The juices that are produced by your pancreas mainly focus on fats, proteins, and carbs to break down. The walls of the small intestine will absorb vitamins, other nutrients, and water into your bloodstream. The remaining undigested food is considered as wastage that moves on to your large intestine.
In the large intestine, the remaining leftover nutrients and water will be absorbed from the food, and the rest of the solid waste passes into the rectum, which is excreted when you have a bowel movement.
How Much Time Our Body Takse To Digest:
After taking solid food, it will take around 6 to 8 hours to reach the small intestine through the stomach. From the small intestine, food moves to the large intestine and then to the rectum. This process will take around 36 hours to pass through the entire colon and depends on what kind of food you are taking.
