From the throat, food travels down a muscular tube in the chest called the esophagus ih-SAH-fuh-gus. Waves of muscle contractions called peristalsis per-uh-STALL-sus force food down through the esophagus to the stomach. A person normally isn't aware of the movements of the esophagus, stomach, and intestine that take place as food passes through the digestive tract.
At the end of the esophagus, a muscular ring or valve called a sphincter SFINK-ter allows food to enter the stomach and then squeezes shut to keep food or fluid from flowing back up into the esophagus. The stomach muscles churn and mix the food with digestive juices that have acids and enzymes, breaking it into much smaller, digestible pieces.
An acidic environment is needed for the digestion that takes place in the stomach. By the time food is ready to leave the stomach, it has been processed into a thick liquid called chyme kime. A walnut-sized muscular valve at the outlet of the stomach called the pylorus pie-LOR-us keeps chyme in the stomach until it reaches the right consistency to pass into the small intestine.
Chyme is then squirted down into the small intestine, where digestion of food continues so the body can absorb the nutrients into the bloodstream. The inner wall of the small intestine is covered with millions of microscopic, finger-like projections called villi VIH-lie.
The villi are the vehicles through which nutrients can be absorbed into the blood. The blood then brings these nutrients to the rest of the body. The liver under the ribcage in the right upper part of the abdomen , the gallbladder hidden just below the liver , and the pancreas beneath the stomach are not part of the alimentary canal, but these organs are essential to digestion. This is a very short phase, usually lasting no more than seconds per bite. In the case of soft food, it might take even less time.
Nothing major happens in this phase, as it is a transitional one. At the bottom of the esophagus, there is a muscle, the esophageal sphincter, which acts as the gate between the esophagus and the stomach. The stomach phase is significantly longer than the previous two combined, but how long does food stay in your stomach, exactly?
Experts at Colorado State University have determined, based on a series of studies and tests, that the stomach phase takes between 4 and 5 hours on average. The acids in your stomach break the food down even further, preparing it for the final stages. The mixture of the partly digested food and stomach acids is called chyme.
After the chyme leaves the stomach, it enters the small intestine. There, your liver and pancreas take the stage. The pancreatic juices are in charge of breaking down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, while the liver bile deals with fats. After this, water, vitamins, and other useful nutrients are transported directly to the bloodstream via the small intestine walls. The large intestine is the last checkpoint before the food is ready to leave your body. This is also the longest phase of the entire process.
It is not unusual for the food to sit in your large intestine for an entire day or even two. Following an extensive study, scientists at Mayo Clinic have found that the average duration of this phase is 40 hours.
More precisely, 47 hours for women and 33 hours for men. It sits there until your next bowel movement. Problems and complications with the digestive system can affect other parts of the body, and they can cause pain and discomfort. Complete digestion of food takes anywhere between 24 to 72 hours and depends on several factors, including the type of food eaten and the presence of digestive issues. This article looks at the digestive process and potential digestive problems and recommends ways to improve digestion.
In many cases, the food moves through the stomach and small intestine within 6 to 8 hours. It then passes to the large intestine colon. Once food reaches the large intestine, it may remain there for up to a day or more as it undergoes further breakdown.
In fact, there are three separate stages of digestion:. Chewing food breaks it down into smaller particles and mixes them with saliva. An enzyme present in saliva, called amylase, acts on carbohydrates in the food to break them down. In the stomach, an enzyme called pepsin helps to break down proteins into smaller particles.
Stomach acid also plays an important role in preventing food-borne illness as it kills any bacteria or viruses that may have been present in the food. Nutrients and water that have been removed from the digested food pass through the walls of the small intestine.
They enter the bloodstream and travel to various areas of the body where they are used to repair and build. The unabsorbed and undigested food that remains then moves to the large intestine.
Here, some more nutrients and water are absorbed. The remainder is stored in the rectum until it leaves the body through a bowel movement. To enjoy a healthy digestive system and to prevent constipation and diarrhea , try the following:. Fiber-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, help move food through the digestive system more rapidly.
They also help prevent constipation, feed gut bacteria, and help with weight loss. Processed and fast foods are often high in fat, making them difficult to digest.
When your stomach is empty, you may experience physical symptoms of hunger. Some examples of these include:. First, oral medications are absorbed into your bloodstream through the lining of your GI tract.
Second, there are some foods that can interfere with the activity of specific types of drugs. This can potentially increase or decrease the level of a drug in your system. This type of interaction is called a food-drug interaction. If food consumption has the potential to affect a drug, your prescription will say to take it on an empty stomach. A good guideline to follow for these types of medications is to take them either 1 hour before eating or 2 hours after eating.
Sometimes you may be prescribed a medication that tells you to take it with food. There are a few reasons for this:. If you have a medication that you need to take with food, try to coordinate taking your medication with your mealtime.
Always follow the instructions on the prescription packaging, and contact your doctor or pharmacist with any questions. Some types of tests or procedures may require you to fast beforehand. For example, you may have to fast before:. There may be additional guidelines related to what types of drinks you can have. This often involves only drinking a small amount of water during your fasting period. After you eat, food typically spends 2 to 4 hours in your stomach. Liquids usually leave your stomach quickly, while solid foods typically take longer.
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