NUTRITION IN HUMAN BEINGS

 The nutrition in human beings (or man) takes place through human digestive system.
 The human digestive system consists of the alimentary canal and its associated
glands.
 The various organs of the human digestive system in sequence are: Mouth,
Oesophagus (or Food pipe), Stomach, Small intestine and Large intestine.
 The glands which are associated with the human digestive system and form a part of
the human digestive system are : Salivary glands, Liver and Pancreas. The human
alimentary canal which runs from mouth to anus is about 9 metres long tube.
 The ducts of various glands open into the alimentary canal and pour the secretions of
the digestive juices into the alimentary canal
MOUTH
The human beings have a special organ for the ingestion of food. It is called mouth.
So, in human beings, food is ingested through the mouth. The food is put into the
mouth with the help of hands.
BUCCAL CAVITY
 The mouth cavity (or buccal cavity) contains teeth, tongue, and salivary glands.
 The teeth cut the food into small pieces, chew and grind it. So, the teeth help in
physical digestion.
 Our tongue helps in mixing this saliva with food.
 The salivary glands in our mouth produce saliva. Saliva is a watery liquid so it wets the
food in our mouth. The wetted food can be swallowed more easily. Many times we
have observed that when we see or eat a food which we really like, our mouth
‘waters’. This watering of mouth is due to the production of saliva by the salivary
glands in the mouth.
 The salivary glands help in chemical digestion by secreting enzymes.
 The human saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase which digests the starch
present in food into sugar. Thus, the digestion of starch (carbohydrate) begins in the
mouth itself. Since the food remains in the mouth only for a short time, so the
digestion of food remains incomplete in mouth.
OESOPHAGOUS
 The slightly digested food in the mouth is swallowed by the tongue and goes down
the food pipe called oesophagus.
 The oesophagus carries food to the stomach. This happens as follows : The walls of
food pipe have muscles which can contract and expand alternately. When the slightly
digested food enters the food pipe, the walls of food pipe start contraction and
expansion movements. The contraction and expansion movement of the walls of food
pipe is called peristaltic movement. This peristaltic movement of food pipe (or
oesophagus) pushes the slightly digested food into the stomach.
 STOMACH
 From the mouth, the food is taken to the stomach through the food-pipe or
oesophagus.
 The stomach is a large organ which expands when food enters it.
 The muscular walls of the stomach help in mixing the food thoroughly with more
digestive juices.
 The digestion in stomach is taken care of by the gastric glands present in the wall of
the stomach.
 These release hydrochloric acid, a protein digesting enzyme called pepsin, and mucus.
 The hydrochloric acid creates an acidic medium which facilitates the action of the
enzyme pepsin.
 The mucus protects the inner lining of the stomach from the action of the acid under
normal conditions.
SMALL INTESTINE
 The exit of food from the stomach is regulated by a sphincter muscle which releases it
in small amounts into the small intestine.
 From the stomach, the food now enters the small intestine. This is the longest part of
the alimentary canal which is fitted into a compact space because of extensive coiling.
 The length of the small intestine differs in various animals depending on the food
they eat.
 Herbivores eating grass need a longer small intestine to allow the cellulose to be
digested.
 Meat is easier to digest, hence carnivores like tigers have a shorter small intestine.
 The small intestine is the site of the complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins
and fats.
 It receives the secretions of the liver and pancreas for this purpose.
FUNCTIONS OF BILE JUICE (LIVER)
 The food coming from the stomach is acidic and has to be made alkaline for the
pancreatic enzymes to act.
 Bile juice from the liver accomplishes this in addition to acting on fats.
 Fats are present in the intestine in the form of large globules which makes it difficult
for enzymes to act on them. Bile salts break them down into smaller globules
increasing the efficiency of enzyme action. This is called emulsification.
 FUCTIONS OF PANCREATIC JUICE (PANCREEAS)
 The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice which contains enzymes like trypsin for
digesting proteins and lipase for breaking down emulsified fats.

FUNCTIONS OF INTESTINAL JUICE

 The walls of the small intestine contain glands which secrete intestinal juice. The
enzymes present in it finally convert the proteins to amino acids, complex
carbohydrates into glucose and fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
ABSORPTION
 Digested food is taken up by the walls of the intestine.
 The inner lining of the small intestine has numerous finger-like projections called villi
which increase the surface area for absorption.
 The villi are richly supplied with blood vessels which take the absorbed food to each
and every cell of the body, where it is utilised for obtaining energy, building up new
tissues and the repair of old tissues.

LARGE INTESTINE
 The unabsorbed food is sent into the large intestine where its wall absorbs more
water from this material.
 The rest of the material is removed from the body via the anus. The exit of this waste
material is regulated by the anal sphincter.
DENTAL CARIES
 The hard, outer covering of a tooth is called enamel .
 Tooth enamel is the hardest material in our body. It is harder than even bones.
 The part of tooth below enamel is called dentine. Dentine is similar to bone.
 Inside the dentine is pulp cavity. The pulp cavity contains nerves and blood vessels.
 The formation of small cavities (or holes) in the teeth due to the action of acid-
forming bacteria and improper dental care is called dental caries. This happens as
follows.
 When we eat sugary food, the bacteria in our mouth act on sugar to produce acids.
 These acids first dissolve the calcium salts from the tooth enamel and then from
dentine forming small cavities (or holes) in the tooth over a period of time.
 The formation of cavities reduces the distance between the outside of the tooth and
the pulp cavity which contains nerves and blood vessels.
 The acids produced by bacteria irritate the nerve endings inside the tooth and cause
toothache.
 If the cavities caused by dental decay are not cleaned and filled by a dentist, the
bacteria will get into the pulp cavity of tooth causing inflammation and infection
leading to severe pain.
 If the teeth are not cleaned regularly, they become covered with a sticky, yellowish
layer of food particles and bacteria cells called ‘dental plaque’. Since plaque covers
the teeth forming a layer over them, the alkaline saliva cannot reach the tooth
surface to neutralise the acid formed by bacteria and hence tooth decay sets in.
 Brushing the teeth regularly, after eating food, removes the plaque before bacteria
produces acids. This will prevent dental caries or tooth decay.