Most people don’t think much about how the digestive system works. We all know how the process starts and ends, but there is much more to digestion than what we can see.
The digestive process breaks down the food you eat into parts that can be absorbed by your body and used for fuel. It’s a process that happens almost entirely automatically every time we eat.
Healthy digestion is essential because it provides fuel and nutrients for every other body system.
Your gastrointestinal tract (GI), also called the digestive tract, is technically a series of hollow organs from your mouth to your anus. Several solid organs along the way contribute to the process of digestion.
Your digestive system has three main processes:
It takes a carefully timed and coordinated process to move the food from your plate through your body, turn it into usable molecules, and then remove the waste.
It’s a critical job because your body needs the nutrients in food and drink for energy, growth, and cell repair.
The food you eat must be broken down into nutrients your body can use.
Carbohydrates – The sugars, starches, and fiber in many foods are carbohydrates (carbs). Carbs are broken down into glucose, which gives the body energy.
Fats – Fats are a source of fatty acids that your body can’t produce on its own. They also help absorb some vitamins, provide energy, support cell function, cushion the organs, and keep your body warm.
Protein – Your body uses the protein you eat to make specialized molecules in your body. Protein supports tissue growth, provides energy, sends chemical messages, provides structure to cells and tissues, helps maintain your body’s pH and fluid balance, and much more.
Vitamins – Vitamins support your immune system, help growth and development, and support many other functions.
Turning the food you eat into the fuel your body needs takes an entire team of organs.
Did you know your body starts the digestive process before the food even reaches your mouth? The anticipation – just knowing you’re going to eat – prompts glands in your mouth to begin making saliva to help break down the food that’s on its way.
Food is moved through your digestive tract by special wave-like movements called peristalsis. As it travels through your system, food is broken down into usable parts in two ways:
Mechanical – Chewing is the first way food is broken down mechanically. Then peristalsis takes over. As food moves through your body, it is squeezed and mixed to continue the process.
Chemical – Saliva is the first step in the chemical process of digestion. Saliva not only helps food move through the esophagus, but it contains enzymes that begin to break down the food.
The digestive organs include:
Most of the nutrients from your food are absorbed by the small intestine and moved to other parts of your body by the circulatory system. Blood carries amino acids, simple sugars, glycerol, and some salts and vitamins to your liver, where they are stored and processed. The liver then delivers them to your body as needed.
Fatty acids and vitamins are absorbed by your lymph system, which helps fight infections.
Sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, and glycerol are necessary for growth, cell repair, and energy.
Your GI tract and brain send signals back and forth to control the digestive process. Hormones in your stomach and small intestine signal when to make digestive juices and notify your brain when you’re hungry or full.
You also have nerves that connect your digestive system to your central nervous system, sending signals like notifying your mouth to make saliva when you smell food. Other nerves in your GI tract release chemicals to help move food through the GI tract and to produce digestive juices.
When something doesn’t work right in your digestive system, your entire body can suffer. Your body counts on your digestive system to process and provide the nutrients every cell needs to survive and thrive.
Food intolerances, weight changes, and gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain, chronic constipation or diarrhea, bloating, heartburn, and excessive gas could be signs of an unhealthy digestive system.
If you’re experiencing problems with your digestive system, a gastroenterologist can help pinpoint the problem area and work with you to find the proper treatment.
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