Digestive System Process (What Is Digestion)

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM PROCESS – Digestion is quite a complex process and this is how it works including its major parts.

The digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract and other organs. These parts and organs work together to break down foods into certain nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Digestion Process – The Digestive System Process

What is the digestion process and how does it take place?

DIGESTION PROCESS – This is how the process of digestion takes place in the digestive system and the organs that are included in this specific process.

After eating your food, aren’t you curious about how does the body breaks it down and its journey down to the body? From the mouth to the bottom, the food makes an incredible journey and this wonder is a process called digestion.

Diegestion Process — Photo lifted from Indiana Public Library

As the word simply states, digestion happens in the digestive system.

The digestive system is made of the following organs and the importance of each:

mouth – this is for chewing where saliva is used and where starches are broken down
esophagus – this is for swallowing
stomach – the upper part of stomach let the food enter and the lower part mixes the food with the digestive juice. The stomach acid is the digestive juice used and this is where protein is broken down.
small intestine – this is the part where peristalsis happen and where food particles like starches, protein, and carbohydrates are broken down.
pancreas – it contains pancreatic juice and where starches, fat, and protein ate broken down
liver – it has bile acids and breaks down fats
large intestine

How does the process of digestion takes place?

It starts with the mouth, the start of the digestive tract. When you consume your food, you chew your food and turn it to small pieces, thus, food is easily digested. These pieces combines with saliva turning it into substances that your body can absorb.

Then, it flows through your throat and into your esophagus. The esophagus has a small flap called epiglottis, the part that manages food entering the body and prevents you from choking.

The food’s next destination is the container or the stomach where food is stored while it is still being mixed with the stomach enzymes. After the breaking down process in the stomach, it is then passed to the small intestine.

The small intestine is a 22-foot long muscular tube. Its first segment is called duodenum to continue the intensive breaking down process, and the lower part the jejunum, is the one responsible for the absorption of nutrients through the walls and into the bloodstream.

The waste products are passed through the large intestine or colon and passes out the body called stool.

Liver, in this process, functions as the organ that processes the nutrients from the small intestine.