What Happens When We Eat?

When we put food in our mouth, it mixes with the saliva in our mouth and we perceive the taste of the food. The saliva contains some enzymes that can digest complex carbohydrates. We can chew the food before we swallow it or swallow directly without chewing, depending on the nature of the food. Different organs inside our oral cavity help with processing the food in our mouth. Some of the accessory organs involved are teeth, tongue, palates and salivary glands. After swallowing, the food passes through the esophagus and enters the stomach. It stays there for few hours while it undergoes digestion before it enters the small intestine. In the small intestine, the food is further digested and nutrients are absorbed. The remnants that are not absorbed are passed to the large intestine. Water is absorbed from the remnant in the large intestine and it becomes semi-solid. It’s later passed out as faeces through the anus. Happy Weekend.