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Read the following paragraphs. Trace the movement of nutrients throughout the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems. Record this on page _____________ Nutrient Absorption The journey of nutrient absorption begins with digestion. 1 After food is chewed and broken down by enzymes in your saliva, it travels down the esophagus and into your stomach. There, digestion continues through the action of hydrochloric acid as well as enzymes which break down protein, lipids, and carbohydrates. The carbs, proteins, and fats leave the stomach in approximately three to five hours. While your stomach is certainly the start of digestive 2 activity, virtually nothing is absorbed there. Your small intestine, the next stop, is the site of almost all nutrient absorption, including proteins, carbohydrates, fat, water, as well as vitamins and minerals. There are two primary ways that nutrients cross through the walls of the small intestine and enter the bloodstream: 3 passive diffusion and active transport absorption. It’s a simple process where nutrients move from an area of high concentration (from inside the intestine) to an area of low concentration (the bloodstream). Active transport absorption means that the nutrient requires a helper or carrier molecule to get it through the intestinal wall out into circulation. The blood then delivers the nutrients and oxygen to every cell and removes the carbon dioxide and waste products 4 made by those cells. Blood is carried from your heart to the rest of your body through a complex network of arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. Blood is returned to your heart through veins. Your body constantly strives for homeostasis, a physiological term for balance. Your body will not absorb 5 more of a given nutrient than it requires. When levels are low or you’re deficient, your body tries to regain homeostasis by absorbing more of whatever is needed. Once that balance is reached, absorption will again be decreased in order to maintain the appropriate level.