How does the digestive system work

In order to live, we have to eat. This might mean thatdigestive system is one of the most important systems in the body, if not themost important one. Digestive system has a lot of elements and it is a complexstructure, which should be nurtured properly.

Mouth

It all starts with the mouth cavity. This cavity consists of the teeth, tongue and oral glands and the substance secreted here is saliva. Its mainrole is in softening the food, so it can continue more easily down the road.Teeth are very important part of digestion process. If food is not thoroughlychopped into tiny pieces, the digestive system will have problems. This especiallygoes for solid food, which takes a lot of time to digest. There is also tonguewith a role of pushing the food backwards and towards esophagus, apassage that connects mouth with stomach.

Stomach

This is the next stop when it comes to food. Main ingredientof digestive juice here is HCL. It breaks down food into material that can passon to intestinal tract. In intestines, the absorption of food happens. The nutrientspass through the wall of intestines and enter the blood stream and cells. Ifthere are excessive nutrients, glucose for example, it will be stored in fatcells. When existing fat cells are filled with new fat, new fat cells will becreated. Fat cells cannot be destroyed normally, but their volume can bedecreased, which happens in weight reduction process. Final step on the road iscolon, which is where material that could not be used is stored until defecationprocess starts.

This is the basic explanation. It should be mentioned thatthere are a lot of enzymes that participate in this process, which are secretedin stomach and intestines. One of the problems that might disrupt digestiveprocess is lack of those enzymes or their improper functioning. Example forthis is lactose intolerance, which happens because there is no enzyme thatbreaks down lactose into smaller molecules. Another problem that might occur is the increased secretionof HCL in the stomach. Actually, muscles that connect esophagus and stomach arenot working properly and that is why HCL enters esophagus and damages itswalls, which might lead to stenosis of esophagus. As for mouth, things areobvious. Good toothbrush and tooth paste, along with regular cleaning and washing, should be enough to keep the oral hygiene at the top level.