The Digestive System

The main role of the digestive system is to break down food and absorb nutrients that are necessary for growth and
maintenance. It is made up of digestive tract – a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth
to the anus – and the other organs that help the body break down and absorb food.

The Parts of the Digestive System

1. Mouth. This is the first part where food passes through. It is popularly called as the buccal cavity.
a. Teeth
b. Tongue
c. Salivary Glands
2. Pharynx or Throat. This is a common passageway for food and air. It is funnel-like. For the digestive system, its
muscular walls function in the process of swallowing, and it serves as a pathway for the movement of food from the mouth
to the esophagus.

3. Esophagus. It is a moist, muscular tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach. It delivers food to the stomach.

4. Stomach. After food enters your stomach, the stomach muscles mix the food and liquid with digestive juices. The stomach
slowly empties its contents, called chyme, into your small intestine.

5. Small Intestine. The muscles of the small intestine mix food with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine,
and push the mixture forward for further digestion. The walls of the small intestine absorb water and the digested nutrients
into your bloodstream. As peristalsis continues, the waste products of the digestive process move into the large intestine.

6. Large Intestine. Waste products from the digestive process include undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from
the lining of your GI tract. The large intestine absorbs water and changes the waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis helps
move the stool into your rectum.

Chemical Changes in Food

It takes around 48 hours before the last bit of the food you last took moves out of your body. However, your stomach
becomes empty every 4-5 hours so that you need to eat three meals or even more in a day.

Food that is newly ingested cannot be used by the body. It has to go through the long digestive tube and undergo a
number of changes, both mechanical and chemical. The change that foods have to go through is necessary to convert
them into their absorbable forms. The nutrients from the foods are needed by the cells for energy, growth and repair.

How does the body converts foods into their absorbable forms? It is the digestive system that is tasked to convert them
into usable forms.

The digestive tube is composed of organs that work together to change food into a form that can be used by the body.

There are two changes that food has to go through while passing thru the digestive tube, the mechanical and chemical
changes in the food.

Mechanical digestion refers to the breakdown of large pieces of foods into smaller sizes and forms, similar to the way
food is chewed. When you chew food, you grind it with your teeth and mix it your saliva through the help of the tongue.
In the process, food is said to be undergoing mechanical change.

On the other hand, chemical digestion involves chemical changes in the food, converting it into usable forms through
the help of enzymes. Good example of these are the foods you eat that are rich in proteins. From macromolecules, they
are converted into simple molecules of amino acids that are usable to the cells, or starch foods that are converted into
disaccharides and eventually into glucose.

Not all foods are usable in forms as some have to undergo digestions. Examples of nutrients that are usable right away
for the cells are the vitamins, water and mineral that you take every day.
Ingestion is taking food into the mouth for example. Food is taken into the mouth where it is physically broken down by
the teeth into smaller pieces.

Digestion is when the ingested food is now broken down into smaller building blocks. This may be achieved by
mechanical means (chewing, churning) and chemical means (digestive enzymes of stomach and intestines).

Assimilation is the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where they are used. For example:
glucose is used in respiration to provide energy. Amino acids are used to build new proteins.

The final function of the digestive system is the excretion of waste in a process known as defecation. Defecation
removes indigestible substances from the body so that they do not accumulate inside the gut.

Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Diseases of the Digestive System

Illness are unavoidable elements of our day-to-day living. It is important to remember that despite our efforts to keep a
healthy body, staying in perfect physical condition is often beyond our control.

Essential Nutrients for Life

Regulatory Nutrients

Is water really important in your diet?

Water is vital in all the biological processes that involve the release of energy in the cell. It serves as a coolant, solvent,
and lubricant in the body. If your urine is pale to almost clear in color, it means you got a lot of water for the day. However,
if t is dark yellow, and in more concentrated form, then your water intake is surely inadequate.

On the other hand, vitamins even if needed in small amounts are indispensable in life. They activate enzymatic activities
and regulate the release of energy in the body.

Minerals are inorganic compounds needed by the cell such as calcium, potassium, zinc and iron among others. These
are grouped into micronutrients and macronutrients. Those that are needed in big amount are called macronutrients,
while those in small amounts are micronutrients. No matter how small they are in amount, they are still essential and
have supplied correctly.

Diseases Resulting from Nutrient Deficiency and Ingestion of Harmful Substances

Nutrient deficiency happens when there is the absence of certain essential nutrients in the diet, necessary for growth
and development. This could lead to malnutrition, starvation, or imbalance in the metabolism in the body.

A deficiency disease, is an illness that occurs because the body lacks a special substance. In general, it is a state of
poor health caused by the lack of adequate nutrients in the body.

The table that follows shows the summary of vitamins needed by the body, their sources, and role in the body
metabolism.
 Diseases of the Digestive System

a. Colon and Rectal Cancer

b. Stomach Cancer
c. Diarrhea
d. Heartburn
e. Hepatitis
f. Stomach and Duodenal Ulcer

Ingestion of Harmful Substances

Chemical poisoning – this is caused by the ingestion, inhalation, or absorption of harmful substances by the
body. These chemicals can cause damage to the cells and organs, affecting the whole body systems. Examples
of these harmful chemicals are mercury and lead. Inhalation of pollutants can cause headaches, nausea,
vomiting, and memory loss.
Care of the Digestive System
1. Do not overeat at mealtimes.
2. Form the habit of eliminating feces regularly.
3. Drink plenty of water.
4. Brush your teeth and visit your dentist regularly.
5. Chew your food slowly, or eat when you are relaxed.
6. Consult your doctor regularly to avoid eating discomforts.

Contemporary Health Issues that Promote Proper Nutrition and Overall Wellness
Nutritional Trends
A healthy diet is one aspect of overall wellness. In determining a successful diet and fitness plan, the first step
is assessing one’s own nutritional needs. A body mass index (BMI) reading uses the gender, height and weight
to determine a healthy weight range for our body.
BMI
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI
can be an indicator of high body fatness. BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health
problems but it is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual.

Emergence of Food Supplements

A dietary supplement is also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement. It contains vitamins or
dietary minerals, herb or others. It helps our body to overcome nutritional deficiencies. Thus, our body needs all
the nutrients in their proper amounts for optimum health.