When you eat yummy food like apples or bread, your tummy works like a magic machine! 🍎✨ First, your teeth chew the food into tiny pieces. Then, it goes down a tube called the esophagus to your stomach, where it gets mixed with special juices. These juices help break the food into even smaller bits!
Next, the food travels to the intestines, where all the good stuff (like vitamins) goes into your blood to make you strong! 💪 The rest comes out when you go potty.
Digestion is like a super-organized factory inside you! 🏭 Here's how it works:
1. Mouth: Teeth chop food, and saliva (spit) starts breaking it down.
2. Esophagus: A muscular tube pushes food to the stomach.
3. Stomach: Strong acids and enzymes turn food into a mushy liquid called chyme.
4. Small Intestine: Nutrients (like sugar and vitamins) are absorbed into your blood.
5. Large Intestine: Water is removed, and waste becomes poop.
Digestion is a complex process involving mechanical and chemical breakdown of food. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Teeth mechanically break down food, while salivary amylase (an enzyme) starts digesting carbohydrates.
Food moves via peristalsis—wave-like muscle contractions—to the stomach.
Gastric juices (hydrochloric acid + pepsin) turn food into chyme. The stomach’s pH is ~2—strong enough to dissolve metal! ⚗️
Enzymes from the pancreas (e.g., lipase) and bile from the liver break down fats. Villi (tiny finger-like projections) absorb nutrients into the bloodstream.
Water and electrolytes are absorbed. Gut bacteria ferment fiber, producing vitamins (like vitamin K).