Download The Digestive Process

The Digestive Process
We tend to take for granted the complexity of our digestive system. There are many moving
parts that work together to make sure nutrients are extracted from the food we eat. Let’s
explore how the digestion process works.
Senses and Mouth
Digestion starts with the senses. The mere sight and smell of food starts to create chemical
reactions that get our body ready to digest food. For example, when you smell a certain food and
your mouth starts to water – that’s digestion starting through your sense of smell.
When you start eating, chewing is especially important because it sends messages to our
digestive tract to prepare various enzyme secretions based on what is being chewed in the
mouth. Carbohydrate-digesting enzymes in the saliva will also begin breaking down the starches
in any foods.
As soon as you swallow food, it starts a series of actions called peristalsis. This is a series of
squeezing waves that allow food to pass from your esophagus to your stomach.
Stomach
When food passes down to the stomach, this is where proteins are broken down into amino
acids. Hydrochloric acid is released from the stomach wall to digest proteins along with
proteases (enzymes). Zinc is critical in this process. As you age, both hydrochloric acid production
and zinc begin to decline. This means as you age, your ability to break down food decreases and
may cause indigestion. Another side effect due to indigestion is allergic reactions in the small
intestine.
The stomach will hold swallowed food and mashes it into a finer paste. As food is moved from
your upper stomach to your lower stomach, it is mixed thoroughly with digestive chemicals until
the think liquid mass becomes what is called chyme.
The stomach will monitor and control the rate in which chyme is released into the small
intestine. Typically a stomach will empty itself within a few hours after the meal.