BODY SYSTEMSTHE DIGESTIVE

PROCESS

The Path Of A Fatty Food Through The Digestive System And Absorbed Into Your Body!

Introduction

Food tastes good but does anyone know what the unhealthy types of food do to your body? Follow this mouthful of food as I show you the path of destruction it goes on after

being swallowed!

Fatty Foods

Examples of fatty foods are sweets such as chocolate, lollies, cakes, muffins, brownies and ice cream, some pastries, fast foods

such as McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jacks, meatball subs from Subway, salt, meats

such as bacon and sausages or even some dairy products such as cheese or butter but one of the world’s most unhealthy foods is

the cheeseburger.

The Beginning – In the Mouth

We are going to follow the journey of a

mouthful of a fatty

cheeseburger through the

digestive tract, the

place where it all begins, is the mouth.

After a bite has been taken out of some food, the digestive process begins, teeth mechanically break down the food, and saliva is used to chemically break down the food using enzymes.

The Next Step - The Oesophagus

After the food is swallowed, it goes down a long passage to get to the stomach. This passage is called the oesophagus. The Oesophagus uses muscular contractions called peristalsis to push the food down.

Step Three – The Stomach5-6 seconds after the food

reaches the

oesophagus, it has

arrived at the stomach,

the stomach is a

temporary food

storage area which can

expand to hold

between 2 and 4 litres

of food. Here in the

stomach the food

encounters another

chemical that will be

used to break down the

food called gastric

juice. The

cheeseburger mixes

with the gastric juice

which breaks down

proteins. The stomach

also contains a dilute

hydrochloric acid which

kills germs and

provides a suitable

environment for

protein digestion.

Step Four – The Small Intestine

Our bit of cheeseburger has now left the stomach and is arriving at the small intestine, here it meets with juices from the gall bladder, liver and pancreas which further help the digestion. The small intestine is a tube about 6 metres long and food moves along it using muscular contractions called peristalsis. (That word sound familiar? That’s right peristalsis is also used to push food along the oesophagus as we talked about earlier). The walls in the small intestine release over 5 litres of mucus and water each day.

The small intestine is also the first location of the absorption process. Nutrients from our greasy cheeseburger are now released into the bloodstream and carried to all cells in your body. These nutrients include fats.

Quick Break

Lets talk about fats. Approximately 21 grams of fat (4 teaspoons) can be found in our greasy cheeseburger. Each teaspoon of fat contains 45 calories, so our cheeseburger contains 180 calories. This wouldn’t be all that bad if the consumer of the food exercised, this is because 45 calories of fat is enough to supply you with energy to play about 6 and a half minutes of sport. To burn off the calories in your body provided by the cheeseburger, you would have to do 26 minutes of exercise. If you don’t burn off all of the calories it is then stored as fat in your body. In a female’s case, this means probably around the thighs and facial area.

Step Five – Large Intestine

Back to the digestive process, after the small intestine, the food moves into the large intestine. The large intestine (or large bowel) is the part of the digestive system where waste products from the food you eat are collected and processed into faeces.

Step Six and Seven – The Rectum and Anus

The anus and rectum are the final destination in which the digestive process takes place. The rectum is at the end of the large intestine, it controls the expulsion of faeces. The anus is the opening of the rectum through which faeces passes out of your body.

Quick Summary

So the digestive process begins with the mouth and ends with the anus. Food is broken down and digested in the mouth, stomach and small intestine and absorbed in the small and large intestines.

Questions?

Now test yourself, answer these questions:

1. In the mouth, is mechanical or chemical digestion taking place?

2. Where does absorption take place?3. What are the muscular contractions used in

the oesophagus and small intestine called?4. In the digestive system, what comes after the

oesophagus?5. What are the chemicals released in saliva

called?

Answers

Here are the answers:

1. Both2. Small and Large Intestine3. Peristalsis4. Stomach5. Enzymes

How did you go?

Biblography

For further help use the following websites and/or books. They worked for me!

http://www.ehow.com/way_5297815_list-fatty-foods.html http://www.livestrong.com/article/331131-list-of-the-most-unhealthy-food

s-in-the-world/ http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/ http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/magnesium-mineral-deficiency Science Quest 2, Essential Learning edition, Graeme Lofts and Merrin J.

Evergreen http://www.chewonthis.org.uk/fat_salt_sugar/fat_home.htm http://www.brianmac.co.uk/fat.htm