Our Digestive System What is a digestive system

Our Digestive System

What is a digestive system? In order to ensure smooth functioning of the body, the organs of the body form various organ systems which perform specific tasks. The digestive system digests the food we eat.

What are the organs in the digestive system? The organs that form the digestive system are mouth, food pipe (oesophagus), stomach, liver, gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, pancreas, anus.

What is digestion? • Your digestive system starts working even before you take the first bite of your food. • The digestive system will be busy at work on your chewed lunch for the next few hours. This process is called digestion. • It allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from the food you eat.

Step-1 • Even before you eat, when you smell a tasty dish, see it or think about it, digestion begins. • The saliva begins to form in your mouth which helps to break down the food into smaller chunks and push it down the food pipe, into the stomach. • It is important to chew your food properly before swallowing it for proper digestion.

Step-2 With the help of the gastric juices present in the stomach, the stomach turns the food into a liquid mixture and sends it to the small intestines.

Step-3 • The juices in the small intestine further break down the food. • Then, it allows the body to absorb all the nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates. This is how the body gets energy to carry out day to day work.

Step-4 • After most of the nutrients are retained from the food mixture, there is waste left over. • This waste is sent to the large intestine. • From here, the waste is passed out of the body through an opening called the anus.

Did you know? It takes approximately seven seconds for food to travel through the oesophagus and reach the stomach. The small intestine of an adult female is longer than the small intestine of an adult male.