Introduction
Digestive health is necessary for overall well-being. Good digestive system responsible for our energy levels, nutrient absorption, and immune system. To enhance our digestive system, we have to adopt some activity like exercise, Yoga, and Ayurveda etc. in our daily life. Secondly, adopting healthy eating habits will help maintain optimal digestive function. In this article, we will discuss how to improve digestion rapidly? We will also discuss what the digestive system and how it works?
What is Digestive System?
The digestive system is made up of a tract called gastrointestinal tract (GI tract or digestive tract). The GI Tract is a series of hollow organs joined from the mouth to the anus. The mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus are the parts of GI Tract. Besides these hollow organs other solid organs like liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are also associated with the digestive system.
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Importance of Digestive System
There are bacteria present in the intestine called microbiome. These bacteria play a very important role in the digestion process. You eat foods containing nutrients like Proteins, Fats,
Carbohydrates, Vitamins and Minerals and of course water to stay healthy and to perform your daily activities. Your digestive system breaks Proteins into amino acids, Fats into fatty acids and glycerol and carbohydrates into simple sugar so that the body can absorb these nutrients to use for energy, growth and cell repair.
Each part of your digestive system helps to move food and liquid from mouth to anus. Each hollow organ of the digestive Tract breaks food into smaller parts. Body absorbs nutrients from food and through out the balance material with the help of the big intestine. Movement of foods from the mouth to anus has been done by a process called peristalsis. In this process the GI tract contracts behind the food and relaxes in front of the food so that food can move forward. Given below function of each part of GI Tract.
Functions of different Digestive Organs
Mouth: Movement of food through GI Tract starts, when you eat food. Your tongue pushes the food into your throat to swallow. The epiglottis (a small flap of tissue) folds over the windpipe to prevent food from entering into the windpipe and the food passes into the esophagus (food pipe).
When you chew, the digestive process starts in the mouth. Salivary glands release saliva, a digestive juice, which soften food so that it can move more easily through the esophagus into your stomach. Enzymes are available in Saliva that begin to break down starches of food.
Esophagus (food pipe): As soon as you swallow, Brain sends signals to start peristalsis in the esophagus. peristalsis mechanism pushes the food down through esophagus into your stomach
Lower esophageal sphincter. The Sphincter i.e. ring -like muscle in the end of the esophagus opens when food reaches there to enter food from the esophagus into the stomach. This sphincter always remains closed to prevent backflow of food from stomach to esophagus.
Stomach: The maximum process of digestion occurs in the stomach. When food enters the stomach, the food and liquid are mixed with digestive juices. Glands of stomach lining make stomach acid and enzymes that break down food. In the stomach food mixed with these digestive juices
Pancreas: For proper digestion pancreas make digestive juice. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are broken down by the enzymes of pancreatic juice. The pancreas also sends the digestive juice to the small intestine through small tubes called ducts.
Liver: To help digestion of fats and some vitamins, the liver makes digestive juice called Pitta. This Pitta is stored in gallbladder and sent to the small intestine for use through Pitta ducts. The function of gallbladder is to store Pitta between meals.
Small intestine: The small intestine is made up of three parts. The first part is called the duodenum, the Middle part is called jejunum and the last part is ileum. the large intestine.
Small intestine receives food from the stomach, Pitta from Liver and digestive juice from the pancreas. Small gut additionally makes digestive juice and mixes most of these juices and pitta to finish the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The wall of the small intestine pushes the mixture forward for further digestion with the help of the peristalsis process. All the nutrients are absorbed by the walls of the small intestine and sent to the bloodstream. The remaining waste products of the digestive process move into the large intestine.
Large intestine: The appendix, cecum, colon, and rectum are the four parts of the large intestine. The appendix is attached to the cecum. The cecum is the first part of the large intestine, the second is the colon and rectum is the end of
Large intestine receives waste products from the small intestine including undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from the lining of the GI tract. By absorbing water, the large intestine converts waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis is responsible for moving the stool into rectum.
Rectum and Anus. The lower end of your large intestine, called the rectum, stores stool until it pushes stool out of the anus during a bowel movement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the role of saliva in digestion of food?
When you chew, the digestive process starts in the mouth. Salivary glands release saliva, a digestive juice, which soften food so that it can move more easily through the esophagus into your stomach. Enzymes are available in Saliva that begin to break down starches of food.
What is the Digestive System?
The digestive system is made up of a tract called gastrointestinal tract (GI tract or digestive tract). The GI Tract is a series of hollow organs joined from the mouth to the anus. The mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus are the parts of GI Tract. Besides these hollow organs other solid organs like liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are also associated with the digestive system
What are the 7 parts of digestive system?
The digestive system is made up of a tract called gastrointestinal tract (GI tract or digestive tract). The GI Tract is a series of hollow organs joined from the mouth to the anus. The mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus.