Digestive System

What is Digestion? It is a process that allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from the food you eat

What is the first step in digestion? Saliva This starts when you smell, think of, or see food.

What does saliva do? Breaks down the chemicals in the food a little bit Helps make your food mushy

Tongue and Teeth Tongue helps by pushing the food around and teeth chew up the food When ready to swallow, the tongue pushes mushed up food (bolus) to the back of the throat and to the opening of the esophagus.

Second part of digestive track Esophagus What is the Esophagus? It is like a stretchy pipe that is 10 inches long

What does it do? It is a transporter Moves food from back of throat to your stomach Takes 2-3 seconds What else is at the back of the throat? Wind pipe What is at the back of the wind pipe? epiglottis

Stomach Shaped like the letter “J”

Jobs of the Stomach 3 main jobs Store food Break down food into a liquid mixture Slowly empty that liquid mixture into the small intestine.

How does the stomach do these things? Muscles in the walls of the stomach plus gastric juices (which come from the stomach walls) break down the food. Gastric juices also help kill the bacteria in food.

Small Intestine It is 1.5-2 inches in diameter and 23 feet long All this is packed beneath your stomach

Parts of the small intestine Duodenum – 1st part of small intestine. Main absorption for simple sugar, minerals, Vit. A and Vit. D Jejunum & Ileum – Both of these have tiny bumps called “Villi” they increase the area so more nutrients can be absorbed.

What does it do? Continues to break down the food mixture, so your body can absorb all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. It gets help to do this from: Pancreas Liver Gallbladder These all send different juices to the first part of the small intestine

Pancreas Makes juices to help the body digest fats and protein

Liver It’s juice is called bile which help absorb fat into the bloodstream

Gallbladder Stores the bile from the liver until the body needs it

What happens to food while in the small intestine? Food may stay in the small intestine for up to 4 hours While in the small intestine, nutrients from your food pass from the small intestine into the blood stream.

What happens when in blood? From the small intestine to the blood, the nutrients travel to the LIVER

Liver Nutrient rich blood comes directly to the liver for processing

What does the liver do? Liver filters out harmful substances or waste Some waste is turned into more bile Liver also helps figure out how many nutrients will go to the rest of the body, and what will stay behind into storage. Example: liver stores vitamins and a type of sugar the body uses for energy

What happens to the left over waste your body can not use? Goes to the Large intestine. Large intestine is 3-4 inches in diameter and about 5 feet long. Large intestine does have a tiny tube with a closed end coming off it called the appendix. The appendix is part of the digestive tract, but does not seem to do anything!

Large Intestine First part of the large intestine is called the colon

What does the colon do? Last chance for the body to absorb water and some minerals into the blood. As water leaves, the waste product that is left gets harder, and it is called….

Poop! Large intestine pushes the poop into the rectum then out the anus

Why should we dig the digestive system? Without it, you could not get the nutrients you need to grow properly and stay healthy.

Problems with the Digestive System Constipation- not going to the bathroom, feeling like you need to, but can’t. Why? Unhealthy diet: too much fat, sugar, or starch. Not enough fiber. Not enough exercise Keeps food moving Not enough fluid Keeps everything moist and soft Not going when you need to Stress

Irritable Bowl Syndrome Common problem Happens in the colon The muscles in the colon and the rest of the body do not work together. Sx: Pain Bloating Fast moving (Diarrhea) gas

Treatment Sometimes meds Not as many big meals No chocolate No spicy foods No high fat foods

Heartburn (GERD) What is it? Sx: Tx: The bottom ring of muscles does not keep the lower part of the esophagus tightly closed between swallows, acid from the stomach comes back up into the esophagus. Sx: Burning sensation Tx: Change diet Lower stress levels