The Digestive System:
The mouth, oesophagus (food pipe), stomach, small and large intestine are the main organs of the digestive system. These organs break down food into nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fats, which the body needs for energy, growth , and repair. After food is chewed and swallowed, it goes down the food pipe and enters the stomach, where it is further broken down into a soup like mixture by powerful stomach acids and digestive juices. This process goes on for few hours and then from the stomach the food travels into the small intestine which is over twenty feet long. This where our food is broken down into nutrients that can enter the blood stream through tiny hair-like projection of the intestine. This process also takes more than five hours. Then the food goes into the large intestine (about five feet long) where water is absorbed and the excess food that the body does not need or cannot digest is turned into waste taking another few more hours and is removed from the body through the anus.
The Location of The Stomach
As mentioned last post, the stomach is one of our main digestive organs. Most of us think that we know the exact location of the stomach – that is inside our novel area. But what we actually have there are the intestines. Our stomach is situated a little below the heart towards the left side of the upper body. So, when we have a pain in our stomach, many of us worry that it is a pain in heart. When we feel pain in the novel (in the intestine), we suspect it is a stomach problem.
