The digestive apparatus

Digestion is a simple process. Large insoluble food particles are broken down into smaller water soluble molecules. So that, they can be absorbed by blood and give energy to different parts of our body. The process of digestion has a few stages:

•         Chewing is the first stage of the digestive system. When you chew your food, the food particles break down into little pieces that are easier to swallow. The saliva which contains a lot of enzymes, mixes with those food particles and helps break down those food particles even more.

•        Once you have completely chewed your food, the tongue helps to push the food particles down your throat. This process is called swallowing. The food travels through a long pipe called oesophagus also known as the food pipe.

•        When the food particles have travelled through the food pipe the next destination is the stomach. There, those particles are there for approximately four hours. The stomach sends a lot of acids and enzymes. These liquids further break down food particles so that these particles can be absorbed by our body.

•        The next destination is the small intestine. Once food particles are in the small intestine, many juices from the liver and pancreas help to break down these particles. Now that the food particles are broken down, the small intestine absorbs them and transfers them to our body through blood.

•        The particles that are not absorbed by the small intestine, go to the large intestine. Now the large intestine absorbs water and other particles and sends the waste material out of our body.