1. How does food change in consistency and form?
- The process of digestion involves the combination of both mechanical and chemical processes in the breakdown of food into nutrients and minerals. It starts with the process of chewing, wherein food is broken into smaller, easier to digest pieces with the help of the teeth and an enzyme called saliva which digests starch. The process continues in the stomach where the gastric acid breaks down the proteins into chyme. Then, these carbohydrates, fats and proteins are broken down further with the help of pancreatic enzymes and bile in the small intestine, where nutrients from these products are absorbed. Additionally, the large intestine absorbs the remaining water and electrolytes in the processed chyme. The remaining chyme is then solidified into feces. The process of food turning into different consistencies such as bile, chyme, and feces all aid in making nutrient absorption easier for the human body.
2. How could the body absorb the nutrients from the food we eat?
- As nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and lipids are absorbed into the walls of the small intestines from chyme, these nutrients are then distributed to the other parts of the human body through the circulatory system wherein they are used for energy, growth, and maintenance of necessary or essential physiological functions.