NUTRITION AND DIGESTION

 Nutrition
-processing of food; the process of absorbing nutrients
from food and processing them in the body in order to
keep healthy or to grow.
 Nutrients
– are substances in food used by the body to promote
normal growth, maintenance, and repair.
Carbohydrates- They are needed to give the body
energy

Good sources: rice, wheat, cereals, grains, pasta, bread,

potatoes, corn, bananas, strawberries, chocolates

Proteins – They assist with growth and repair of the

body.

Goods sources: all kinds of meats, poultry, fish, eggs,

dairy products-milk, cheese, plant foods-nuts, soy beans,
peas

Fats and Oils

– Also called lipids
– Required to help build cell membranes
– Insulate the body
Good sources: red meats, oily fish, eggs, milk and
cheese, avocado, olives, peanuts and soya

Vitamins
– Needed for various body processes to work, stay
healthy and ward off diseases
– Needed in small amount (grams per day)
– Chemical names, and also letters like, A, B or C

Minerals
– Needed for various body processes
– Needed in small amounts
– Simple and chemical substances: iron, calcium,
sodium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, zinc

WATER
• The most essential nutrient
• 50-60% of body weight
• Major component of blood

Four Stages
• Ingestion
-Is the process of taking food or drink into the body
through the mouth.

• Digestion
-Is breaking down of complex nutrient molecules, mainly
carbohydrates, fats and proteins into simpler ones
– Two forms:
• Mechanical digestion
• Chemical digestion

• Mechanical Digestion
– Cutting and grinding action of teeth
– Churning action of the stomach’s muscular wall
– Break food into smaller pieces
– Food arrives in the small intestine in the form of a
soup-like liquid(chyme)

• Chemical Digestion
– Involves the action of enzymes
– Biological catalysts that speed up reactions both
inside and outside of cells.
– Enzymic activity takes place in the small
intestines, also occurs in the mouth and stomach

Absorption
-The movement of the products of digestion such as
glucose or amino acids from the alimentary canal into the
bloodstream.
Egestion
-Is the elimination of indigestible material such as fiber,
dead cells and bacteria from the body in the form of feces.
Food’s Journey

Part of the tract length time spent

Mouth 10cm up to 1min.
Throat 10cm 2-4 secs
Gullet 25cm 2-5 secs
Stomach 25cm 3-6 hours
Small intestines 580cm 2-4 hours
Large intestines 150cm 5-10 hours
Rectum 20cm 5-8 hours

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Two linked parts:
Alimentary canal
• A tube, 9 meters long, extends from the mouth
to the anus
• Longest section, intestines packed into the
abdominal cavity
• Linked organs: mouth, pharynx, esophagus,
stomach, small and large intestines
Accessory digestive organs
• Consist of teeth and tongue, salivary glands, liver,
gall bladder and pancreas which are all linked by
ducts to the alimentary canal

Parts and Functions

• Mouth
-Where teeth bite and chew food, tongue moves it
around and salivary glands add saliva to it
• Throat
– Where swallowed food from the mouth passes
down to the gullet.
– Throat opens into both the trachea (respiratory
system) and esophagus (digestive system).
– As food enters pharynx, swallowing reflex is
triggered:
• Esophageal sphincter relaxes
• Epiglottis blocks tracheal opening
• Food is directed towards esophagus
Gullet
– Also known as esophagus or food pipe
– Muscular tube that conveys food to stomach.
– Peristalsis: Wavelike involuntary muscle
contractions squeeze food through alimentary
canal (towards the stomach).
Stomach
– Where food is mashed and mixed with powerful
juices containing acids and enzymes
– measures about 30cm
– Has thick muscle layers
– Average amount of food and drink contents is 1.5
liters
 – Makes about 1.5 liters of gastric juices
per day

• rugae

Small Intestines
– Receives part-digested soupy food from the
stomach
– Adds more juices and enzymes
– Soaks up or absorbs the various nutrients and
– Average width, 3-4cm
– Three main parts: duodenum(25cm),
jejunum(225cm), and ileum(300cm)
– Receives digestive juices from pancreas and liver
– Plicae, villi, microvilli: greatly increase surface
area of inside of intestine to about 5-10 sq m, to
absorb as many nutrients as possible from food

Small Intestine: Site of Digestion and Absorption

Large Intestines
– Takes the leftovers from the small intestines
– Takes in the most water, valuable body salts,
minerals
– Average width is 6-7cm
 – First part is wider, the cecum and has appendix
branching from it
– The second part is the ascending colon, going up
the right side of the abdomen
– Third part is transverse colon, across the top of
the abdomen
– Fourth part is the sigmoid (S-shaped) colon, on
the lower left of the abdomen.

Large Intestine: Water Absorption and Formation of

Feces

Appendix
– Finger-sized part branching from the start of the
large intestines
– Dead-end, hallow inside
– Average length 5-10cm
– No important task in digestion

Rectum
– Stores the brown lumpy leftovers and wastes
– Average weight of wastes is 150 grams per day

Pancreas
– Long organ lies horizontally below the stomach
– Soft, greyish-pink in color
– Weight is 0.1 kg
– Length is 15cm
Has two main tasks:
• To make hormones, insulin and glucagon
• Make digestive chemicals (pancreatic juice)
Functions of pancreas
– Contain about 15 powerful enzymes that break
apart many substances in foods, including CHON,
CHO and fats
– Makes about 1.5 liters of digestive juices daily

Gall Bladder
– Small storage bag under the liver
– 8cm long and 3cm wide
– Located on the posterior surface of the liver
– Stores and concentrate bile
– bile- a greenish-yellow liquid, about 1 liter per day
is produce by the liver
– Bile contains water, cholesterol, bile pigments
(waste product of the breakdown of hgb from
RBC), bile salts (for fat digestion)
Liver
– Located in the upper abdomen behind the lower
right ribs
– Weigh 1.5 kgs. (3.3 lbs.)
– Largest internal organ
– Deep red color indicative of large volume of blood
– Has 500 metabolic and regulatory functions
Functions of liver:
 – Blood glucose regulation
– Fat metabolism
– Mineral storage
– Vitamin storage
– Protein metabolism
– Bile production
– Hormone breakdown
– Detoxification
– Heat generation

COMMON PROBLEM

GASTRITIS - inflammation of the stomach lining

PEPTIC ULCER - erosion of the mucous membrane that

lines the upper digestive tract, caused by excess secretion
of acid in the stomach.