Human Body Explorers: The Journey of Food

Journey Of Food

The journey begins when we see or smell appetizing food. The brain signals the salivary glands, making our mouth water. 

Eating:

• We use our mouths to eat food, chewing it with our teeth to break it down into small pieces.
• The tongue helps move food around and mix it with saliva to soften it.

Swallowing:

• We swallow the food that goes down our throat and into our esophagus, a tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
• Swallowing takes about 1 to 3 seconds.

Digestion in Stomach:

• In the stomach, the food mixes with stomach juices that help break it down further.
• The stomach muscles churn the food into a thick liquid called chyme.

Absorption in Small Intestine:

• The chyme moves into the small intestine, where digestion and nutrient absorption occur.
• Digestive juices from the pancreas and liver mix with the chyme to break down food into nutrients.
• The small intestine’s lining absorbs nutrients into the bloodstream, carrying them to different body parts to provide energy.

Large Intestine:

• The undigested food passes through a one-way muscular opening to the large intestine.
• The large intestine absorbs water from the food waste, making it more solid, and pushes the waste material to the rectum.
• The large intestine helps to maintain the body’s water balance and eliminate waste.

Elimination:

• The waste, called feces, is stored in the rectum until it leaves the body through a bowel movement.

Fun Facts

Here are some interesting facts about the digestive system:

• When stretched out from end to end, the human digestive system would be around 30 feet long!
• The acid in our stomach is strong enough to dissolve metal.
• The intestines are home to trillions of bacteria that help with digestion.
• The stomach can stretch and hold up to 4 pounds of food at one time.
• Our body can move food through the digestive system even while standing on our heads. It is not connected to gravity because it works with muscles.
• The average person produces 2 pints of saliva daily, 32 ounces or two soda cans.

Review

Let’s quickly recap what we learned about the journey of food:

• Which part of the body does the brain send signals to when we see or smell appetizing food? Salivary Glands
• What is the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach? Esophagus
• Which organ churns food and uses acid and enzymes to break it down? Stomach
• Digestive juices from which two organs mix with chyme to break it down into nutrients?  Pancreas and Liver
• What are the two main functions of the large intestine? Maintain Water Balance and Eliminate Waste
• How are the nutrients from food carried to different parts of the body to give energy? Through the Bloodstream