how is food digested
Answers
Answer:
Digestion works by moving food through the GI tract. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing and ends in the small intestine. As food passes through the GI tract, it mixes with digestive juices, causing large molecules of food to break down into smaller molecules.
Answer:
Saliva is secreted by salivary glands located under the tongue which contains digestive enzymes like salivary amylase, which break down starch into sugar. So, digestion of carbohydrates starts in the mouth itself.
• Tongue helps in chewing, moistening, rolling and swallowing of food.
• The food from mouth then goes down the oesophagus, which is the food pipe to the stomach, through the movement of walls of oesophagus (peristalsis)
• Stomach mixes the food hence received with various digestive juices.
• Inner lining of stomach secretes:
• Mucus – protects the lining of stomach from being corroded by the acid.
• Hydrochloric acid – creates an acidic medium and dissolves bits of food.
• Digestive juices – break down protein into simpler substances.
The food from stomach eventually moves into the small intestine.
• Digestion in small intestine: It is the longest part (about 7.5 m long) of alimentary canal. It is the site where complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats takes place. It gets intestinal juices from two different glands – liver and pancreas that help in the further digestion of food.
Liver is the largest gland of the body and secretes bile juice. Bile juice is stored in the gall bladder and has a significant role in the digestion of fats.
Pancreas has enzymes that help in total digestion of all food components.
• The digestive tract and associated glands together constitute the digestive system.