Digestive system health -
The hollow organs that make up the GI tract are the mouth, esophagus , stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are the solid organs of the digestive system.
The small intestine has three parts. The first part is called the duodenum. The jejunum is in the middle and the ileum is at the end. The large intestine includes the appendix , cecum, colon , and rectum. The appendix is a finger-shaped pouch attached to the cecum.
The cecum is the first part of the large intestine. The colon is next. The rectum is the end of the large intestine. Bacteria in your GI tract, also called gut flora or microbiome, help with digestion. Parts of your nervous and circulatory systems also help.
Working together, nerves, hormones , bacteria, blood, and the organs of your digestive system digest the foods and liquids you eat or drink each day. Digestion is important because your body needs nutrients from food and drink to work properly and stay healthy.
Proteins , fats , carbohydrates , vitamins , minerals , and water are nutrients. Your digestive system breaks nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair.
MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you meet your individual health needs. Each part of your digestive system helps to move food and liquid through your GI tract, break food and liquid into smaller parts, or both.
Once foods are broken into small enough parts, your body can absorb and move the nutrients to where they are needed. Your large intestine absorbs water, and the waste products of digestion become stool. Nerves and hormones help control the digestive process.
Food moves through your GI tract by a process called peristalsis. The large, hollow organs of your GI tract contain a layer of muscle that enables their walls to move. The movement pushes food and liquid through your GI tract and mixes the contents within each organ.
The muscle behind the food contracts and squeezes the food forward, while the muscle in front of the food relaxes to allow the food to move. Food starts to move through your GI tract when you eat. When you swallow, your tongue pushes the food into your throat. A small flap of tissue, called the epiglottis, folds over your windpipe to prevent choking and the food passes into your esophagus.
Once you begin swallowing, the process becomes automatic. Your brain signals the muscles of the esophagus and peristalsis begins. Lower esophageal sphincter. When food reaches the end of your esophagus, a ringlike muscle—called the lower esophageal sphincter —relaxes and lets food pass into your stomach.
After food enters your stomach, the stomach muscles mix the food and liquid with digestive juices. The stomach slowly empties its contents, called chyme , into your small intestine.
Small intestine. The muscles of the small intestine mix food with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, and push the mixture forward for further digestion. The walls of the small intestine absorb water and the digested nutrients into your bloodstream.
As peristalsis continues, the waste products of the digestive process move into the large intestine. Large intestine. Waste products from the digestive process include undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from the lining of your GI tract.
The large intestine absorbs water and changes the waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis helps move the stool into your rectum. The lower end of your large intestine, the rectum, stores stool until it pushes stool out of your anus during a bowel movement.
Watch this video to see how food moves through your GI tract. As food moves through your GI tract, your digestive organs break the food into smaller parts using:.
The digestive process starts in your mouth when you chew. Your salivary glands make saliva , a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily through your esophagus into your stomach. Saliva also has an enzyme that begins to break down starches in your food.
A high-fiber diet assists the food entering your digestive tract to move continuously. An unhampered path can reduce the risk of constipation. Similarly, a high-fiber diet may treat and prevent different digestive problems like hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, and irritable bowel syndrome IBS.
A high-fiber diet consists of legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Good digestion , which gives you a feeling of satisfaction after every meal, requires good fat or omega-3 fatty acids.
Healthy fats help you feel fuller after meals. The omega-3 fatty acids aid in proper nutrient absorption and decrease your risk of developing inflammatory bowel diseases.
Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and other nutrients that can improve your digestive and overall health. Some people dislike the taste of bland vegetables or fruits.
To make your meal more exciting, you may opt to get creative with your plate. For a rainbow view, you may arrange your food by color.
You can also try eating a fruit bowl or try recipes that use various spices to make your veggies tastier. However, this is an unhealthy way of preparing food, especially if you use this method often. You should try steaming, poaching, braising, boiling, and microwaving instead of frying.
If you are going to eat fried food every once in a while, make sure you thoroughly cook the meat to avoid health risks like salmonella. Probiotics are the same type of yeasts and bacteria naturally found in the digestive tract.
They are responsible for combating the side effects of stress, antibiotics, and poor diet. They can also help break down lactose, treat IBS, strengthen the immune system, and enhance nutrient absorption. The best sources of probiotics are kefir and low-fat yogurt.
Another primary cause of constipation is low fluid intake. Medical professionals recommend drinking 1. However, you may need to add another liter to this standard amount if you live in an area with warm weather or if you exercise.
In addition to improving your digestive health, water also lubricates your joints, regulates body temperature, and flushes toxins from the body. Over time, added sugars may produce harmful chemicals dangerous to the gastrointestinal tract.
Make sure to read food labels for possible unhealthy sources of sugar. Duodenum The word duodeni is Latin and means "12 each. Jejunum The jejunum, the middle section of the small intestine, is about 5 to 8 feet 1.
Ileum The ileum is the third and final section of the small intestine. It's also the longest, measuring 16 to 20 feet 5 to 6 meters long. Appendix The appendix is attached to the cecum. If it becomes inflamed, this is called appendicitis. Pharynx Because both food and air move through it, the pharynx is part of both the respiratory and digestive systems.
Esophagus The esophagus is a soft, muscular tube that moves food from the pharynx to the stomach. Liver The liver is the body's largest internal organ.
The liver performs many tasks, including storing energy and helping the body get rid of toxins. Stomach The stomach has a tough lining. It's able to hold up in the highly acidic environment needed to break down food.
Pancreas The pancreas makes hormones including insulin to regulate the blood glucose level. It also makes enzymes that break down food in the intestines. Large Intestine The large intestine consists of three parts: the cecum, the colon, and the rectum.
Colon The colon is the largest part of the large intestine and has three parts: the ascending colon, the transverse colon, and the descending colon. Rectum The rectum is the final 6 to 8 inches 15 to 20 centimeters of the large intestine. It stores stool poop until it leaves the body.
Anus The anus marks the exit point of the digestive tract; it's where poop leaves the body. The mouth: Digestion begins even before we taste food. When we see, smell, taste, or even imagine a tasty meal, our salivary glands located in front of the ears, under the tongue, and near the lower jaw begin making saliva spit.
Teeth tear and chop the food. Spit moistens it for easy swallowing. A digestive enzyme in saliva called amylase AH-meh-lace starts to break down some carbohydrates starches and sugars in the food.
Muscles in the tongue and mouth work together to swallow the food and move it into the throat pharynx. The pharynx FAIR-inks is a passageway for food and air. A soft flap of tissue called the epiglottis ep-ih-GLAH-tus closes over the windpipe when we swallow to keep food and liquid out of the lungs.
The esophagus: Food travels down a muscular tube in the chest called the esophagus ih-SAH-fuh-gus. Waves of muscle contractions called peristalsis per-uh-STALL-sus force food down through the esophagus to the stomach.
A person usually isn't aware of the muscle movements that push food through the digestive tract. The stomach: At the end of the esophagus is a muscular ring or valve called a sphincter SFINK-ter.
The sphincter lets food enter the stomach, then squeezes shut to keep food and liquids from flowing back up into the esophagus.
The stomach muscles churn and mix the food with digestive juices that have acids and enzymes. These juices help break up food into much smaller pieces. By the time food is ready to leave the stomach, it has been turned into a thick liquid called chyme kime.
A small muscular valve called the pylorus pie-LOR-is controls when chyme is released into the small intestine.
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