Nutrition in Humans:

Lesson 1
What happens to the food that you eat?
Nutrition in Humans: Think about it!
• How is the structure of the digestive system related to its

function?

• How would a person be affected if a certain part of the

digestive system is not able to function properly?

• Suggest a meal plan for a person who is suffering from a

named gastrointestinal disease/ condition, and explain its

effectiveness.
What do you know about nutrition in humans? List out
as many ideas you can generate on a piece of blank
paper.

- Substances involved?
- Places?
- Reactions?

Once you’re done, try to draw as many lines as you

can between the ideas to illustrate a link between two
ideas.
 BIG IDEA…

Concept: Relationships
1. All relationships are purposeful

2. Everything is related in some way; structure is

related to function.

3. Relationships may change over time.

Lesson 1:
• What is nutrition?

• What are the processes involved in nutrition?

• Where do these processes occur in the

digestive system?

• Movement in the digestive tract - Peristalsis

 What is nutrition?
• Nutrition is the process by which organisms obtain
food and energy for growth, repair and maintenance of
the body.
 What are the processes involved in nutrition?

Ingestion
Food is taken
into the body.
Absorption and
assimilation
The digested food
Digestion molecules are absorbed
into the cells.
Large food molecules are
These food molecules
broken down into smaller
are converted into new
soluble molecules.
protoplasm or used to
provide energy.

Egestion
Undigested food
is removed from
the body.
Parts of the Human Digestive System

The human digestive system consists of the

alimentary canal and the organs associated with it.

salivary gland
mouth pharynx
oesophagus

stomach
gall bladder liver
pancreas
pyloric sphincter
large intestine
small intestine

rectum
anus
Worksheet 1

Look at the diagram that you have labelled:

• Where do you think these processes take

place? (Ingestion, Digestion, Absorption,
Assimilation, Egestion)

• Which organs do you think are involved in

these processes? How do you know?
 BIG IDEA…

Concept: Relationships
1. All relationships are purposeful

The proximity of some parts of the digestive system to

each other is purposeful. These parts work together to
complete a process.
The Digestive Tract
• The digestive tract, also
known as the alimentary
canal, gastrointestinal
tract, or gut, is a long,
continuous muscular
tube which starts at the
mouth and ends at the
anus.

• Different parts of the

tract have modified
structures to perform
different functions
Think about it:

• Can food travel through the digestive tract

if you are lying down or standing upside
down?
Movement in the Human
Digestive tract: Peristalsis

What is peristalsis?

• Peristalsis is the rhythmic, wave-like muscular

contractions in the wall of the digestive tract.

• It helps the movement of food along the tract from

the oesophagus to the rectum.

• It also enables food to be mixed with digestive

juices.
• https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o18UycWRsa
A
Example:
Peristalsis in the oesophagus

• The oesophagus is a narrow, muscular tube that

extends to the stomach.

• The wall of the oesophagus is made up of two layers of

muscles: longitudinal and circular muscles. These
muscles are antagonistic to each other.
longitudinal muscles

circular muscles
 What are antagonistic muscles?

• A pair of muscles whose movements oppose each

other i.e. when one muscle contracts, the other
relaxes and vice versa.

• The circular and longitudinal muscles in the wall

of the gut are antagonistic muscles.
Demonstration

Suggest what is happening to the circular

and longitudinal muscles:

• Above the ball

• Below the ball
How do the antagonistic muscles in the
gut wall help in the movement of food?
Wall constricts here. The circular muscles
contract and the longitudinal muscles relax.
The food is pushed forward.

food mass

Wall dilates here. The longitudinal muscles

contract and the circular muscles relax. This
widens the lumen to allow food to enter.
 BIG IDEA…

Concept: Relationships
1. All relationships are purposeful

The antagonistic relationship between circular and

longitudinal muscles gives rise to peristalsis.

2. Everything is related in some way; structure is

related to function.

Muscles are present in the walls of the tract to allow for

peristalsis to occur
Think about it:

• What happens when you vomit?

• Is there peristalsis involved?