food processing in digestive system

The food digestion plays an undeniably important role in our body system, which is the main way for the human kind to gain nutrients and energy in order to growth, repairs the body cells, and carry out the daily routine (National Institutes of Health, 2013). The foods and drinks that people consume are required to be turned into the smaller nutrient-molecules before the blood absorbs and carries the various nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals to the body cells (National Institutes of Health, 2013). According to National Institutes of Health (2013), the decomposition of food nutrients are completed through the digestive system which form by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, also defined as digestive tract, and along liver, pancreas and gallbladder as well. The GI tract is made up of a series of hollow organs with the connection from mouth to anus, which consisting buccal cavity (mouth), esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Based on Batrisya (2013), the food digestive process are classified into four stages, that are ingestion, digestion, absorption, and egestion or elimination (refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).

The first stage of food processing is ingestion. Ingestion is the process where food is delivered into the alimentary canal or track . During this stage, the mouth is like an office as it act as a medium for food to enter human stomach. The storage of food is also part of the responsibility for both mouth and stomach. Human are required to eat for only few times in one day as it depends on our storage capacity of whether is enough for ingestion. Lietzamann (2009), Shetty (2009), Buol (2008) and Combs (2005) stated that human kind obtain most elements from either plant ...

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...all intestine (Chiras, 2013). According to Chiras (2013), the contraction of the smooth wall of the organ pushes the feces along the large intestine. The fecal matter accumulates in the rectum, the last part of the large intestine (Chiras, 2013).

The final stage is egestion or elimination. In general, the term 'eliminate' in digestive system is known as defecation for biological term (Chiras, 2013). During this stage, eliminating or defecating the unwanted solid or semisolid dross as known as feces from the digestive system namely excretion (Mann & Truswell, 2011). According to Mann and Truswell (2011), the egestion in human body system often goes once or twice per day somehow the frequency is vary depends on the human individual’s digestive system. Infant's volume and type of feeding are factors of affecting stool frequency and consistency (Mann & Truswell, 2013).