THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The following is an example of the path of the digestive system from feed to flush or whats also known as the gastrointestinal track (GI Track). This process should take between 12-24 hours from beginning to end with a healthy diet. It is mostly made up of “hollow” organs to transport your food and drink through digestion. With the Liver and Pancreas being “solid” organs helping it all get absorbed and processed along the way. The path goes as follows –
The Mouth – This is where it all begins. The digestive process actually starts when you begin chewing your food, breaking it down with the chewing motion and the saliva lubricates the chewed up food ready to be swallowed down the throat.
The Throat – This is the pathway that carries the food to the oesophagus, making sure the chewed up food, drink and saliva gets there and doesn’t go down the windpipe or trachea by mistake. So has the job of filtering your air and food down the right path.
The Oesophagus - This is a food pipe and has the very simple job of conveying food and drink into the stomach.
The Stomach – This then starts to get to work on the food stuffs it receives. The stomach has hydrochloric acid and enzymes that break down the food you eat. Only partial digestion happens here. This muscular sac is also used to temporarily store food should you have eaten a large meal that it can’t digest all at once. When the foods reach the stomach and the stomach is ready, its starts to mix it up and using its digestive acids turns the mixture into a substance called “chyme”. This process can also create some gases, which is what can lead to things like burping and heartburn. The stomach then releases the chyme in a regulated and controlled manner into the small intestines for further digestion. This is the stomachs role done.
The Small Intestines – This really is where the hard work starts. The small intestines are provided with enzymes from the Liver and Pancreas to continue to digest the chyme it receives. On the path from the stomach to the small intestines, it also passes a small organ called the gall bladder. The gall bladder holds bile which has been produced by the liver until it is needed, and then released to break down and dissolve fats from the food.
The liver is a massive solid organ that has many roles. But its role in the GI Track is to create bile, to help to break down the nutrients such as protein and carbohydrate, and helps absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and B12 too. It also can produce vitamin A.
The inside walls of the small intestines are covered with what’s known as villi and microvilli and with an expanse of surface area, all play a part in the process of absorbing the nutrients and water and releasing the nutrients into the body through the intestine walls.
It is where vitamins are absorbed and fat is removed and taken out for storage around the body, and fibre flows through undigested scrubbing the walls and keeping them clean.
The small intestine through its six meters in length then absorbs all the nutrients and water through its walls, feeding your body what it needs. A very important role of the small intestines is also to absorb water. As much as 10 litres of water can pass through the small intestines each day. By the time the original chyme mixture leaves the small intestines 90% of the nutrients and water would have been extracted, and what is left is passed on to the large intestine.
The Large Intestines – We are now nearing the end of the GI Track. The two meters of large intestines or colon is where the rest gets processed. The colon carries on absorbing the water, and also turns what’s left of the unabsorbed food and fibre onto solid (hopefully) faeces (all the unused waste produce). So it is then ready to be disposed of and excreted from the body.
There are over 50 to 700 types of friendly bacteria (different sources say different amounts) in the large Intestines all with a variety of jobs to do. They help to digest some nutrients and vitamins K and B, and also protect the body from the waste that passes through acting as a barrier from waste infections.
From here the faeces are passed to the Rectum and out the Anus and excreted.
The Mouth – This is where it all begins. The digestive process actually starts when you begin chewing your food, breaking it down with the chewing motion and the saliva lubricates the chewed up food ready to be swallowed down the throat.
The Throat – This is the pathway that carries the food to the oesophagus, making sure the chewed up food, drink and saliva gets there and doesn’t go down the windpipe or trachea by mistake. So has the job of filtering your air and food down the right path.
The Oesophagus - This is a food pipe and has the very simple job of conveying food and drink into the stomach.
The Stomach – This then starts to get to work on the food stuffs it receives. The stomach has hydrochloric acid and enzymes that break down the food you eat. Only partial digestion happens here. This muscular sac is also used to temporarily store food should you have eaten a large meal that it can’t digest all at once. When the foods reach the stomach and the stomach is ready, its starts to mix it up and using its digestive acids turns the mixture into a substance called “chyme”. This process can also create some gases, which is what can lead to things like burping and heartburn. The stomach then releases the chyme in a regulated and controlled manner into the small intestines for further digestion. This is the stomachs role done.
The Small Intestines – This really is where the hard work starts. The small intestines are provided with enzymes from the Liver and Pancreas to continue to digest the chyme it receives. On the path from the stomach to the small intestines, it also passes a small organ called the gall bladder. The gall bladder holds bile which has been produced by the liver until it is needed, and then released to break down and dissolve fats from the food.
The liver is a massive solid organ that has many roles. But its role in the GI Track is to create bile, to help to break down the nutrients such as protein and carbohydrate, and helps absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and B12 too. It also can produce vitamin A.
The inside walls of the small intestines are covered with what’s known as villi and microvilli and with an expanse of surface area, all play a part in the process of absorbing the nutrients and water and releasing the nutrients into the body through the intestine walls.
It is where vitamins are absorbed and fat is removed and taken out for storage around the body, and fibre flows through undigested scrubbing the walls and keeping them clean.
The small intestine through its six meters in length then absorbs all the nutrients and water through its walls, feeding your body what it needs. A very important role of the small intestines is also to absorb water. As much as 10 litres of water can pass through the small intestines each day. By the time the original chyme mixture leaves the small intestines 90% of the nutrients and water would have been extracted, and what is left is passed on to the large intestine.
The Large Intestines – We are now nearing the end of the GI Track. The two meters of large intestines or colon is where the rest gets processed. The colon carries on absorbing the water, and also turns what’s left of the unabsorbed food and fibre onto solid (hopefully) faeces (all the unused waste produce). So it is then ready to be disposed of and excreted from the body.
There are over 50 to 700 types of friendly bacteria (different sources say different amounts) in the large Intestines all with a variety of jobs to do. They help to digest some nutrients and vitamins K and B, and also protect the body from the waste that passes through acting as a barrier from waste infections.
From here the faeces are passed to the Rectum and out the Anus and excreted.