Digestive health information -
A small flap of tissue, called the epiglottis, folds over your windpipe to prevent choking and the food passes into your esophagus. Once you begin swallowing, the process becomes automatic.
Your brain signals the muscles of the esophagus and peristalsis begins. Lower esophageal sphincter. When food reaches the end of your esophagus, a ringlike muscle—called the lower esophageal sphincter —relaxes and lets food pass into your stomach.
After food enters your stomach, the stomach muscles mix the food and liquid with digestive juices. The stomach slowly empties its contents, called chyme , into your small intestine.
Small intestine. The muscles of the small intestine mix food with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, and push the mixture forward for further digestion. The walls of the small intestine absorb water and the digested nutrients into your bloodstream.
As peristalsis continues, the waste products of the digestive process move into the large intestine. Large intestine. Waste products from the digestive process include undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from the lining of your GI tract.
The large intestine absorbs water and changes the waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis helps move the stool into your rectum. The lower end of your large intestine, the rectum, stores stool until it pushes stool out of your anus during a bowel movement.
Watch this video to see how food moves through your GI tract. As food moves through your GI tract, your digestive organs break the food into smaller parts using:. The digestive process starts in your mouth when you chew. Your salivary glands make saliva , a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily through your esophagus into your stomach.
Saliva also has an enzyme that begins to break down starches in your food. After you swallow, peristalsis pushes the food down your esophagus into your stomach. Glands in your stomach lining make stomach acid and enzymes that break down food.
Muscles of your stomach mix the food with these digestive juices. Your pancreas makes a digestive juice that has enzymes that break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The pancreas delivers the digestive juice to the small intestine through small tubes called ducts.
Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile that helps digest fats and some vitamins. Bile ducts carry bile from your liver to your gallbladder for storage, or to the small intestine for use.
Your gallbladder stores bile between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder squeezes bile through the bile ducts into your small intestine. Your small intestine makes digestive juice, which mixes with bile and pancreatic juice to complete the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
Bacteria in your small intestine make some of the enzymes you need to digest carbohydrates. Your small intestine moves water from your bloodstream into your GI tract to help break down food.
Your small intestine also absorbs water with other nutrients. In your large intestine, more water moves from your GI tract into your bloodstream. Bacteria in your large intestine help break down remaining nutrients and make vitamin K.
Waste products of digestion, including parts of food that are still too large, become stool. The small intestine absorbs most of the nutrients in your food, and your circulatory system passes them on to other parts of your body to store or use. Special cells help absorbed nutrients cross the intestinal lining into your bloodstream.
Your blood carries simple sugars, amino acids, glycerol, and some vitamins and salts to the liver. Your liver stores, processes, and delivers nutrients to the rest of your body when needed.
The lymph system , a network of vessels that carry white blood cells and a fluid called lymph throughout your body to fight infection, absorbs fatty acids and vitamins. Your body uses sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol to build substances you need for energy, growth, and cell repair.
Your hormones and nerves work together to help control the digestive process. Signals flow within your GI tract and back and forth from your GI tract to your brain. Cells lining your stomach and small intestine make and release hormones that control how your digestive system works.
These hormones tell your body when to make digestive juices and send signals to your brain that you are hungry or full. Your pancreas also makes hormones that are important to digestion.
You have nerves that connect your central nervous system—your brain and spinal cord—to your digestive system and control some digestive functions. For example, when you see or smell food, your brain sends a signal that causes your salivary glands to "make your mouth water" to prepare you to eat.
You also have an enteric nervous system ENS —nerves within the walls of your GI tract. When food stretches the walls of your GI tract, the nerves of your ENS release many different substances that speed up or delay the movement of food and the production of digestive juices.
The nerves send signals to control the actions of your gut muscles to contract and relax to push food through your intestines. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK and other components of the National Institutes of Health NIH conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.
Watch a video of NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials. Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.
This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK , part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public.
Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts. English English Español. Anatomic Problems of the Lower GI Tract Show child pages.
Appendicitis Show child pages. Barrett's Esophagus Show child pages. Bowel Control Problems Fecal Incontinence Show child pages. Celiac Disease Show child pages. Chronic Diarrhea in Children Show child pages.
Colon Polyps Show child pages. Constipation Show child pages. Constipation in Children Show child pages.
Crohn's Disease Show child pages. Read more on Dietitians Australia website. Cystic fibrosis CF is an inherited disease that mostly affects the lungs and digestive system.
Find out more about symptoms and treatments here. Cystic fibrosis CF is a genetic condition that affects the lungs, digestive system and sweat glands. Children with CF need specialised care through life. Read more on raisingchildren. au website. Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can lead to serious disease of the liver.
It is the most common liver infection in the world. The liver is an important part of the body's digestive system and performs functions such as digesting fats and filtering toxins.
Read more on Family Planning Australia website. Surgical Treatment: Surgery for IBD sometimes requires surgery as a means of controlling symptoms or dealing with IBD-related complications.
Read more on Mindovergut. com website. Constipation is when your bowel motions take more effort than usual and your stools can be small and hard.
Find out what products are available for constipation. Read more on myDr website. Treatment for heartburn will depend on how often your heartburn occurs and how much it impacts on your life.
Treatments include antacids, medicines or surgery, as well as self-help measures. Constipation is the passing of hard, dry bowel motions stools that may be infrequent or difficult to pass.
Dietary tips for managing constipation. Read more on Continence Foundation of Australia website. Authors' conclusions: This review identified some evidence for the benefit of postoperative CG in improving recovery of GI function. Read more on Cochrane Australia website. Chronic fatigue syndrome CFS , also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis ME , is a complex, chronic neurological condition affecting the brain, muscles, digestive system, immune system, cardiac system and other areas of the body.
Read more on Ausmed Education website. Read more on Australian Prescriber website. Dysphagia difficulty swallowing is expected in the terminal phase and often subcutaneous medicines are required.
The subcutaneous route is used for ease of access, efficacy and safety. Where people are unable to tolerate oral medicines, other options need to be considered to ensure continued symptom management. Read more on palliAGED website. Constipation is a medical issue to be taken seriously, particularly when present in the older adult.
Older adults are considered to be a primary at-risk group for chronic constipation. Normally, the lining of the stomach and intestines has defences against acid produced by the stomach.
However, when something interferes with those defences, the acid may cause damage. A peptic ulcer is a product of this damage; it is an open and inflamed sore. Although it can involve any part of the GI tract, it commonly affects the small intestine or colon.
It can have serious consequences such as choking and aspiration pneumonia if not appropriately managed. This test measures the amount of antimitochondrial antibodies AMA in the blood. The production of AMA is strongly associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. Read more on Pathology Tests Explained website.
Aspartate aminostransferase AST is an enzyme found mostly in the liver, red blood cells, heart and other muscles. When liver, red blood cells, heart or mus.
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The digestive system is made heealth of the gastrointestinal tract—also informatio the GI tract or digestive Hypertension in older adults Digestive health information liver Digestive health information, pancreasand gallbladder. The GI tract Digestive health information a series of Digdstive organs joined in informatiln long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. The hollow organs that make up the GI tract are the mouth, esophagusstomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are the solid organs of the digestive system. The small intestine has three parts. The first part is called the duodenum. The jejunum is in the middle and the ileum is at the end. We need food to fuel Innovative weight loss supplements bodies for energy, growth and repair. Pre-race nutrition plan digestive system converts Digeztive foods we Healyh into their simplest forms, like imformation sugarsamino acids that make up protein or L-carnitine and heart disease acids that make up fats. The informatoon food is then absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine and the nutrients are carried to each cell in the body. The digestive tract begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. It is like a long muscular tube, up to 10 metres long, with digestive organs attached along the way. A large reservoir of microbes, such as bacteria, live within the large intestine and, to a lesser degree, in vthe rest of the digestive system. These bacteria play an important role in healthy digestion.
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