The Journey Through Your Digestive Tract
After swallowing, food travels down your esophagus—a muscular tube connecting your mouth to your stomach. It doesn't just fall down with gravity! Instead, coordinated muscle contractions called peristalsis push the food along like a wave.
Once food reaches your stomach, it's mixed with powerful gastric juices containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Your stomach acts like a food processor, churning everything into a liquid mixture called chyme. The acid environment kills many harmful bacteria and helps pepsin break down proteins.
Next stop: the small intestine, where most nutrient absorption happens. This organ is lined with millions of tiny finger-like projections called villi that dramatically increase the surface area for absorption. Here, digestive juices from your liver and pancreas finish breaking down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
The final stage occurs in your large intestine, which absorbs water and minerals from undigested food. This creates solid waste (feces) that moves to your rectum and is eventually eliminated through your anus.
Remember: The small intestine is actually much longer than the large intestine (about 20 feet compared to 5 feet), despite their names!