Meeting Our Basic Needs: Digestion
Now that you have the correct “supplies” that your body needs to function, you need to be able to utilize them in a way that your body can grow and heal. If you can’t digest the nutrients there’s no point in eating them right?
It helps to understand the digestive process. What all needs to be in place in order to use the nutrients your body needs?
The Process of Digestion
Ingestion:
- The process of digestion starts with the ingestion of food. Food is taken into the mouth through biting, chewing, and swallowing
Mechanical Digestion:
- In the mouth, mechanical digestion begins with the chewing of food. Teeth grind and break down the food into smaller pieces, increasing it’s surface area for chemical digestion.
- The tongue helps mix the food with saliva, forming a soft mass called a bolus.
Chemical Digestion in the Mouth:
- Saliva, produced by the salivary glands, contains enzymes (like amylase) that begin the chemical breakdown of carbohydrates in the food.
- This initial enzymatic action turns starches into simpler sugars.
Swallowing:
- The tongue pushes the bolus of food to the back of the throat, triggering the swallowing reflex
- The food moves through the esophagus, a muscular tube, via coordinates muscle contractions called peristalsis.
Stomach:
- The swallowed food enters the stomach, where it encounters gastric juices containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin.
- Hydrochloric acid helps to create an acidic environment in which pepsin can break down proteins into smaller peptieds.
- The stomach also churns the food, mixing it with gastric juices to form a semi-liquid mixture called chyme.
Small Intestine:
- Chyme moves from the stomach into the small intestine (duodenum), where most digestion and nutrient absorption take place.
- The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes (lipase, protease, and amylase) into the small intestine to further break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
- The liver produces bile, which is stored in the gallbladder and released into the small intestine to aid in the digestion and absorption of fats.
Absorption:
- Nutrient absorption primarily occurs in the walls of the small intestine. The small intestine is lines with millions of tiny finger-like projections called villi, which are covered in even smaller hair-like structures called microvilli.
- These structures increase the surface area for absorption. Nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids, are absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to various cells and tissues.
Large Intestine (colon):
- Any undigested food, as well as waste products, enter the large intestine
- Water and electrolytes are absorbed in the colon, and thre remaining material is compacted into feces.
Elimination:
- Fecal material is stored in the rectum until it is eliminated through the anus as waste during a bowel movement.
Keep in mind that if you have allergies or inflammation, it may be causing chaos in your digestive system. In that case you won’t be absorbing the nutrients you need. In other words, you won’t be getting what you need to heal any health problem. It’s important to get the fire under control in order to digest food efficiently. Here’s a great video to watch when troubleshooting digestive distress!
