Understanding Digestion

1. Chewing produces more saliva which helps to break down food.
2. Food travels down the esophagus and into the....
3. Stomach (here acid and enzymes converts food into a type of paste)
4. Pyloric Valve....this keeps the acid from coming back up.
Digestion takes place in 1 to 4 hours. Carbs leave the stomach first, then protein, then fat.
5. Nutrients enter the Duodenum, which is the first part of the
6. Small Intestine
7. Pancreas ...enzymes from here and the duodenum complete the rest of digestion.
8. Liver....produces Bile and is secreted by the
9. Gall bladder. This assists with fat digestion and absorption.
10. Jejunum
11. Ilium These two have twenty feet of absorptive tissue. These two sections have many folds called villi and finger like projections on the villi called microvilli. They provide over 820 sq. ft. of absorptive capabilities.....the size of a tennis court.
From there, nutrients are shipped off to your liver for further processing, then to cells, which create and store glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids.