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How does the food change in consistency and form?
The digestive system converts the foods we eat into their simplest form. The food starts as a solid. In the mouth, the teeth are responsible for breaking the food into pieces and the saliva produced by the glands also helps in break down. Once the food is swallowed, it travels from mouth to the stomach, where strong acids and enzymes are present to break if further, resulting in a soupy mix called chyme. As it travels through the long small intestine, digestive juices form the liver, pancreas, and in the intestine itself, the food is mixed to break it further into tiny particles for absorption.
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How could the body absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat?
As the food is broken down into tiny particles, absorption of nutrients from the food we eat is necessary. These tiny particles are rich in nutrients like vitamins, amino acids, glucose, and minerals that our body needs. In response, the small intestine is the one responsible for its absorption. Small intestine has a small, finger-like structure called villi responsible for absorption, and it contains blood vessels that take the nutrients into the bloodstream.