HOW IS FOOD DIGESTED?

HOW IS FOOD DIGESTED

1)Food is digested by digestive enzymes in your digestive system. The first digestive enzyme is called amylase and it is found in you mouth, in other words your saliva, this enzyme breaks down carbohydrates/ sugars. 

2)Then your food is churned with your teeth and becomes a bolus ( a ball of food), that then travels down to the stomach through methods of peristalsis. 

3)The food enters the stomach upon passage through the cardiac orifice, also known as the esophageal sphincter. In the stomach, food is further broken apart through a process of heuristic churning and is thoroughly mixed with a digestive fluid, composed chiefly of hydrochloric acid, and other digestive enzymes to further denature proteins. The parietal cells of the stomach also secrete a compound, intrinsic factor which is essential in the absorption of vitamin B-12. As the acidic level changes in the small intestines, more enzymes are activated to split apart the molecular structure of the various nutrients so they may be absorbed into the circulatory or lymphatic systems. Absorption is when smaller molecules, such as glucose or alcohol, pass through the membrane of the stomach directly into the blood stream.

4)After being processed in the stomach, food is passed to the small intestine via the pyloric sphincter. 

5)Then to the large intestine which will be passed out through the anus.