What Happens In Our Body As We Eat Food?

Let's shortly explore how our body processes food, even before it's in your mouth!

Let's begin here. The foods we eat are nutrients for our body to fulfill their functions and keep us alive. They are categorized as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins. Before we begin eating, our salivatory glands produce saliva, which has enzymes and accompanies our chewing. The food becomes soft and easily swallowable. As you swallow, the food travels down the esophagus, and peristalsis occurs in which the walls of the esophagus move, delivering it to the stomach. Following, the food is moved and mixed with digestive juice, consisting of enzymes, water, acids, mucus, and more, by the walls of stomach muscles and slowly breaks down the proteins of food into a thick liquid called chyme. Then, the stomach releases chyme into the small intestine, and a fluid that dissolves fat called bile mixes with the chyme.

Further along the small intestine, the proteins are broken into amino acids, carbohydrates into glucose, and fat into fatty acids as digestive juices further mix and break down the food. As the food travels through the walls of the small intestine, many of the nutrients left get absorbed into the bloodstream which delivers it to other parts of the body. After, the remaining waste products are then moved to the large intestine where most of the water is absorbed and the liquid turns into a stool. This stool goes into the rectum to be stored and once the rectum expands enough, the nerves send signals to release it out of the body.

Thanks for reading and remember food is fuel! :))