Understand your digestive system – from your mouth to your colon
Many individuals grapple with digestive problems like constipation and bloating. Yet, these issues can be easily avoided if we grasp the mechanisms of our digestive system and understand how to maintain a healthy flow.
Generally, we tend to steer clear of delving into the intricacies of our digestion and avoid discussing our intestinal functions.
Ordinarily, our digestive system operates smoothly – you input something at one end and something different emerges from the other. It’s usually only when we encounter digestive hiccups that we start taking a keen interest in the internal workings of our bodies.
Nevertheless, gaining insight into this process can be quite enlightening and instrumental in overcoming digestive challenges.
One seamless system
To grasp the functioning of your digestive system, it’s essential to envision it as a seamless continuum extending from your mouth to your anus. This system’s primary function is to dismantle the food you consume, allowing its nutrients to be absorbed into your bloodstream and transported to the specific areas of your body where they are required.
Your mouth is the starting point
Effective digestion hinges on the thorough breakdown of your food. This is precisely why the initial phase of your digestive process, commencing in your mouth, holds paramount importance. It’s here that the food undergoes its inaugural breakdown, facilitated by the action of chewing and its amalgamation with saliva. An ample supply of saliva is available for every meal, with our salivary glands generating between 0.7 to 1 liter of saliva daily. Beyond safeguarding your teeth, the enzymes within saliva play a pivotal role in further disintegrating the ingested food, facilitating smoother digestion as it progresses through your digestive tract.
The esophagus
After leaving your mouth, the food travels down your esophagus, which is about two centimeters in diameter and approximately 25 centimeters in length.
Situated in your throat, the esophagus serves as a dedicated transport passage for food, playing a vital role in your digestive system. Upon reaching your stomach, the right side of your esophagus connects to it through a circular muscle known as the lower esophageal sphincter. This muscular ring relaxes when you swallow, permitting the food to enter your stomach.
Nature’s ingenious design places your esophagus on the right side of your stomach, a strategic positioning that alleviates some of the pressure exerted on this vital organ. Our everyday movements, from laughing to coughing, engage our abdominal muscles, which can exert additional pressure on the stomach from below. If, however, the esophagus were connected at the top of the stomach, every step we took would likely result in acid reflux. This astute arrangement spares us from such discomfort.
The stomach
Our stomach is located higher up than you would think. It starts right underneath the left nipple and ends under the right costal angle. When people say they have a stomachache, in fact they often refer to the belly.
In the stomach, the digestive process really picks up. Your stomach muscles ensure that the food is mixed well with the digestive juices produced by your stomach and the food is moved around and broken down into small particles that your small intestine continues to process.
The stomach itself is lopsided with one side being longer than the other is. Large folds are formed on the inside of the stomach – another stroke of genius on the part of nature. This means that liquid is enabled to flow directly from the esophagus along the shorter, right-hand side of the stomach and down to the opening of the small intestine, whereas solid food is led into the left-hand, more spacious side of the stomach where the digestive process takes place.
After two to four hours in the stomach, the semi-digested food is led further into your body through yet another sphincter – the pylorus – and into your duodenum and your small intestine.
The small intestine
Following the pylorus, which marks the uppermost section of the small intestine, the three-to-six-meter-long coil of this vital organ unfolds, providing a crucial backdrop for the majority of the digestive process. Within this convoluted passageway, bile (produced by your liver) and enzymes from your pancreas work harmoniously to facilitate digestion. At the commencement of your small intestine, a minute aperture in the intestinal lining serves as a gateway for digestive fluids to permeate the food. This collaborative effort results in the food being meticulously broken down into minuscule components, ready for absorption by your body. These essential nutrients are then sieved and absorbed through the lining of your small intestine, ushered into your bloodstream, and subsequently dispatched throughout your entire body. It’s a finely tuned system, predominantly automatic, adeptly tailored to the specific foods you consume.
The large intestine and the rectum
The final segment of your digestive system is the large intestine, where approximately 1.5 kg of intestinal bacteria play a crucial role in your digestion. While commonly referred to as intestinal flora, the accurate term is the microbiome, signifying the multitude of tiny organisms that play a pivotal role in your overall health. The microbiome’s functions include:
- Breaking down fibers and starches that your small intestine may not have fully processed.
- Converting dietary fibers into fatty acids, which serve as vital nutrients for the cells lining your intestines.
- Maintaining the health of the mucous membrane in your intestines provides a protective barrier against harmful substances from entering your bloodstream.
- Combating harmful bacteria that may pose a threat.
- Generating essential vitamins.
- Regulating and supporting your immune system for overall well-being.
The extensive processing in your large intestine can extend for up to 16 hours. Similar to the process in your small intestine, anything that can be extracted from your food is absorbed into your bloodstream by the large intestine.
The residual waste materials are transformed into stools and then eliminated through your rectum.
Stools
No two individuals are identical, which makes defining what is considered healthy and normal quite challenging. This principle also extends to our digestive patterns. While one person may typically pass stools once or even several times daily, another person’s regular pattern may involve this occurring three to four times weekly.
This is how to ensure a healthy flow
As mentioned earlier, the foundation of a healthy digestive system lies in thorough food chewing. However, several other factors play a significant role in influencing your digestion. For instance, stress can have a notable impact on your digestive processes. Additionally, you may experience food intolerance, such as gluten or lactose intolerance, which can lead to issues like bloating, stomach pains, constipation, or diarrhea. These are among the most common reasons to seek advice from your doctor.
Once you and your doctor have ruled out any underlying medical conditions, there are several steps you can take to foster a healthy digestive flow:
- Stay Hydrated: Often, constipation arises from inadequate fluid intake. Aim for one-and-a-half to two liters of water daily. Water aids in the effective utilization of dietary fibers in your food and prevents food from stagnating in your large intestine.
- Increase Fiber Intake: Dietary fibers facilitate quicker passage of food through your digestive system, helping alleviate bloating and constipation. Foods like oats, bananas, and beans pass through to the large intestine without full digestion, providing nourishment to beneficial bacteria.
- Maintain Physical Activity: Regular movement and exercise help sustain peristalsis – the coordinated, wave-like contractions of your intestinal muscles that mix food with gastric juices and propel it through your digestive tract.
- Eat Regularly: Avoid the habit of skipping meals and consuming a large meal at the end of the day. Sustain your digestive system’s momentum by consuming smaller, balanced meals throughout the day.
- Respond to Natural Urges: Suppressing the urge to use the bathroom is not advisable. When you feel the need, it’s important to respond promptly. Delaying bathroom breaks can lead to constipation over time.
Taking these steps can significantly contribute to a healthy and efficient digestive process.
By Christa Z. Dahl
Rephrased by GP Medical Devices 2023
Sources:
“The way to a healthy stomach” (”Sund mave sådan”) by Søs Wollesen
Article on ing.dk, 14 May 2016: “Essential assistants – and another way to treat and prevent: Your life is controlled by bacteria” (”Livsvigtige hjælpere – og ny vej til behandling og forebyggelse: Bakterierne styrer dit liv”).
”Gut; the inside story of our body’s most underrated organ” by Giulia Enders