Food is our fuel, and its nutrients give our bodies’ cells the energy and substances they need to work. But before food can do that, it must be digested into small pieces the body can absorb and use.
The first step in the digestive process happens before we even taste food. Just by smelling that homemade apple pie or thinking about how delicious that ripe tomato is going to be, you start salivating — and the digestive process begins in preparation for that first bite.
Digestion begins as soon as we put food in our mouths. Saliva starts to digest the carbohydrates in the food as we chew it. Chewing breaks the food up into small pieces that can pass easily down the esophagus and into the stomach, where powerful acids begin to digest proteins and kill harmful bacteria. The stomach is not still. Its muscular walls churn the food into a thick, soupy consistency.
Along the way, food is broken down into tiny molecules so that the body can absorb nutrients it needs:
Protein must be broken down into amino acids.
Starches break down into simple sugars.
Fats break down into fatty acids and glycerol.
The waste parts of food that the body can’t use are what leave the body as feces.
Picture Credit : Google
