DIGESTION,

FOOD, HEALTH
Role in Wellness
 The body’s health is based on the nutrients
available to support growth, maintenance, and
energy needs.
 Inadequate nutritional intake can affect the

body’s ability to use the foods consumed.

 The digestive system, which is responsible for

processing foods, depends on nutrient intake for

its maintenance. Although the body is resilient,
we stress our physical limits when we adopt
habits that do not support optimal health.
 A primary way to decrease the risk of future

disease and achieve wellness is to use lifestyle

choices that support positive health behaviors.
Role in Wellness
 Physical health begins with the gastrointestinal
(GI) tract as the first step to maintain body
functioning; unless nutrients in foods are
digested and absorbed, life cannot continue.
 The decision and follow-through to change

lifestyle behaviors to positively improve health in

relation to digestive disorders is an aspect
of intellectual health.
 An individual’s emotional state and ability to

handle stress may increase the risk of several

disorders of the GI tract.
Application to nursing
 Thisconcept may assist clients to
understand that their illnesses may
be affected by other components of
their lives.

 Sometimes illnesses force us to

confront factors that may influence
our ability to maintain health or to
achieve balance in our lives.
 FOOD
 The food we eat contains a variety of nutrients,
which are used for building new body tissues
and repairing damaged tissues.
 is also vital for life because it is our only source

of chemical energy.
 must be broken down into molecules that are

small enough to enter body cells, a process

known as DIGESTION.
 The passage of these smaller molecules

through the plasma membranes of cells lining

the stomach and intestines and then into the
blood and lymph is term ABSORPTION
 OVERVIEW OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 Identify the organs of the digestive
system
 Describe the basic process

performed by the digestive system.

Digestive system
is uniquely designed to turn the food
you eat into nutrients, which the body
uses for energy, growth and cell
repair.
TWO GROUPS OF ORGANS COMPOSE
THE DIGESTIVESYSTEM
1. GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OR
ALIMENTARY CANAL (NOURISHMENT)
= is a continuous tube that
extends from the mouth to the
anus through the ventral body
cavity.( mouth, pharynx,
esophagus, stomach, small
intestine, large intestine
TWO GROUPS OF ORGANS COMPOSE
THE DIGESTIVESYSTEM

2. Accessory digestive system =

are the teeth, tongue, salivary
glands, liver, gallbladder,
pancreas.
7 Basic Process of Digestive system
1. Ingestion = process involves taking foods and
liquids into the mouth.( eating)
2. Secretion = of digestive enzymes and other
substances liquefies, adjusts the pH of, and
chemically breaks down the food.
3. Propulsion =is the movement of food along
the digestive tract. The major means of
propulsion is peristalsis, a series of alternating
contractions and relaxations of smooth muscle
that lines the walls of the digestive organs and
that forces food to move forward.
7 Basic Process of Digestive system
4. Mechanical digestion is the
process of physically breaking down food into
smaller pieces. This process begins with the
chewing of food and continues with the muscular
churning of the stomach.

5. Chemical digestion
is the process of chemically breaking down food
into simpler molecules. The process is carried
out by enzymes in the stomach and small
intestines.
7 Basic Process of Digestive system

6. Absorption
is the movement of molecules (by passive
diffusion or active transport) from the digestive
tract to adjacent of the digested food (now
called nutrients) into the body.

7. Defecation
is the process of eliminating undigested material
through the anus.
SUMMARY
Process of Digestive system
• The processes of digestion include six activities:
ingestion, propulsion, mechanical or physical digestion,
chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation.
• The first of these processes, ingestion, refers to the
entry of food into the alimentary canal through the
mouth.
• Chewing. Digestion begins as soon as you put food in
your mouth. ...
• Swallowing. ...
• Stomach Digestion. ...
• Small Intestine Digestion. ...
• Absorption. ...
• Waste Elimination.
Digestive System Organs
Segments of the Digestive Tract
Mouth
Oropharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Large intestine
Cecum
Colon
Ascending colon
Transverse colon
Descending colon
Sigmoid colon
Rectum
Anal canal
Digestive System Organs
Accessory Organs
Salivary glands
Parotid gland
Submandibular gland
Sublingual gland
Tongue
Teeth
Liver
Gallbladder
Pancreas
Vermiform appendix
Four Stages of Food
Processing in your body:

1. ingestion,
2. digestion,
3. absorption, and
4. elimination.
2 TYPES OF DIGESTION
1. Mechanical digestion
= involves the mechanical breaking down of
food into smaller pieces. It begins in the mouth
with chewing. The tongue and the teeth play the
most important roles here in moving the food
around and chewing.

2. Chemical digestion
=involves the chemical breakdown of food by
different enzymes and chemicals. This also starts
in the mouth with salivary amylase that starts the
process of carbohydrate breakdown.
FUNCTION OF ANATOMIC PART OF DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
• MOUTH • Produce saliva and food
stimulates chemical and
mechanical digestion.
• TONGUE
• assists with mechanical
digestion by guiding food
into chewing positions and
then leading the
pulverized food into the
esophagus .
FUNCTION OF ANATOMIC PART OF DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
• ESOPHAGUS • Breaks down the size of foodstuff
into the GI tract.

• Holding food for partial digestion

• STOMACH • Producing muscular action that
combined with gastric juice, mixes
and tears food into smaller pieces
•  Secreting the intrinsic factor for
vitamin B12 absorption
• Releasing gastrin
• Assisting in the destruction,
through its acidity of secretions, of
pathogenic bacteria that may have
inadvertently been consumed.
 FUNCTION OF ANATOMIC PART OF DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
• SMALL INTESTINE • For nutrient absorption
• Final stages of the
digestive process

• LARGE INTESTINE • final absorption of any

available nutrients, usually
water and some minerals
 VIDEO
• The Digestive Process - University of
Michigan Health System

https://youtu.be/Uzl6M1YlU3w?t=96
• MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL DIGESTION
VIDEO
THANK YOU