7 important things to know about your digestion!

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This information will surprise you! You definitely don't know about it yet…

Digestion is divided into two types: mechanical digestion, which occurs in the mouth, when food is physically broken down into smaller pieces, and chemical digestion, which occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, when food is broken down into small molecules.

Digestion involves taking food into the mouth, where it is chewed between the teeth in a process called mastication. Saliva present in the mouth contains amylase, which begins the breakdown of starch in food.

The liver and pancreas play an important role in digestion. The liver produces bile (needed for digestion), which enters the small intestine via the bile duct. The pancreas secretes juices that aid in digestion as well as the absorption of nutrients.

For example, complex carbohydrates in foods such as rice and bread are broken down into simple sugars such as glucose. As a result, they can be easily absorbed by the body to provide energy for various cellular functions.

After passing through the small intestine, food passes into the large intestine, which absorbs the remaining nutrients and water. Waste is stored in the rectum, from where it leaves the body through defecation.

7 interesting things we should know about our digestion:

1. The stomach holds 1.5 liters. But when we eat, it stretches so much that it can double its size.

2. When food reaches the stomach, it contracts every 20 seconds to mix it. Food stays in the stomach for 3 to 4 hours and in the large intestine for 6 to 20.

3. Gastric juice is a liquid that contains hydrochloric acid in a ratio of 1 to 4%. Sodium cyanide in contact with hydrochloric acid in gastric juice turns into hydrocyanic acid, the fastest and most deadly poison: 0.01 grams is enough to kill a person in 30 seconds.

4. Peristaltic movements carry food through the digestive tract. This is why you can eat even while lying down.

5. If we completely stretched out the small intestine of an adult, its length would be about 6 meters. And its total surface area (full of folds and villi) is 300 m2, which is equivalent to the size of a tennis court.

6. Stress changes the type, number and diversity of bacteria that live in the stomach and intestines. Because these microbes regulate immune function, it is easier to cause stomach inflammation and disease when stressed.

7. We get three types of nutrients from food. Carbohydrates, which are oxidized when needed or, if they remain, stored as glycogen. And fats, which are oxidized and stored. Proteins can build tissue (such as muscle), oxidize, or participate in the synthesis of amino acids and fats. Oxidized foods produce calories. Specifically, a gram of carbohydrates or a gram of protein provides 4 calories; while a gram of fat provides 9.