Download The Digestive System

The Digestive System
Health
The Functions of the Digestive System
• There are three main functions of the digestive system:
• Digestion
• Absorption and
• Excretion
Digestion
• Digestion is the breaking down of the food we eat.
• This first begins in our mouth. Chewing is the first part of breaking
food down so that the nutrients that are in it may be absorbed into the
bloodstream. There are also chemicals in the mouth called
“enzymes” which help break the food down while chewing.
• After the food is swallowed, it goes into the stomach. The stomach
has an acid inside of it called hydrochloric acid, which aides in
completing the process of breaking down the food.
Absorption
• After food leaves the stomach, it enters the small intestine.
• More than 90% of the absorption of nutrients from our food takes place in the
small intestine. A small amount of other absorption may take place through the
walls of the stomach, but again, the vast majority takes place in the small
intestine.
• Absorption is when all the good things from the food, such as the nutrients, the
vitamins, and minerals go from the food to the blood stream to be taken all over
our bodies.
• By the time food reaches the end of our small intestine, there won’t be any
nutritional material left in the food, and it is now waist material.
Excretion
• While the small intestine winds around in a complex way, the large intestine,
which is now where the used food is located, is much less complex in its patter.
• The large intestine is much wider than the small intestine. It pathway is also
much more direct. The function of the large intestine (colon) is merely to
transport the waste material out of the body, and that’s all. The colon only
handles waste material, so this material needs to leave the body as quickly as
possible. So the colon is wide, and the pathway is direct.
The Digestive System
The
Stomach
The Large
Intestine
Diseases of the Digestive System
• Ulcer
• Diabetes
• Appendicitis
Healthy Lifestyle
• Diet
• Exercise
The End!