The Amazing Journey of Your Food

Take a moment to think about the last meal you ate. Maybe it was a sandwich, some rice, or a bowl of pasta. That food gave your body energy and nutrients — but first your body had to break it down. Here is a question to get you thinking:

Digestion is the process your body uses to break food down into tiny pieces it can use. Think of it like a long assembly line that starts at your mouth and ends at the other side of your body. **Stage 1 — The Mouth** Digestion begins the moment you take a bite. Your teeth chew and grind food into smaller chunks. At the same time, your tongue moves the food around, and a liquid called saliva mixes in. Saliva contains special chemicals called enzymes that start breaking down the food straight away. **Stage 2 — The Oesophagus** When you swallow, food travels down a muscular tube called the oesophagus. Muscles in the walls squeeze the food downwards — a bit like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. **Stage 3 — The Stomach** Food arrives in the stomach, a stretchy bag that squeezes and churns it. The stomach also releases acidic juices that break the food down further. After an hour or two, the food has turned into a thick liquid. **Stage 4 — The Small Intestine** The liquid food moves into a long, coiled tube called the small intestine. More enzymes break the food into the tiniest possible pieces — nutrients. The walls of the small intestine absorb these nutrients, which pass into your blood. Your blood carries them to every cell in your body. **Stage 5 — The Large Intestine** Anything your body cannot use moves into the large intestine. Water is absorbed here. The leftovers are stored and eventually leave your body as waste. The whole journey can take between 24 and 72 hours!