HEALTH CARE

DIGESTION OF FOOD

We need energy to do different kinds of work. You know that we get this energy from the carbohydrates and fats in our food, and that proteins are useful for repairing the wear and tear of our body and also the growth of our body.

Our body can make use of the constituents of the food we eat only when they reach all parts of the body. To carry the food constituents to all parts of the body is one of the functions of blood. However, food does not dissolve in the blood in the same form in which we eat it. The food we eat undergoes certain processes. These processes result in the formation of substances which can dissolve in blood. These processes are together called “digestion of food”. Organs engaged in these processes are called digestive Organs.

The digestive tube from the mouth to the anus forms the digestive system or alimentary canal. The mouth, the food pipe, the stomach, the small intestine and the large intestine form the alimentary cannal. The food undergoes different changes in the different parts of the alimentary canal.

The digestion starts in the mouth. We put the food in the mouth. Our teeth bite the food and grind the pieces of food well. Saliva (a liquid produced in some glands in the mouth) mixes with food when the teeth grind it. This juice(saliva)changes the starch contained in the food into sugar. The food is now soft and it is like a paste. Then the paste is swallowed. The food paste goes into the stomach through the gullet or the food pipe.

The food reaches the stomach and remains there for nearly four hours. The stomach is like a bag. Its walls are made of muscles. These muscles expand and contract. The food is well-churned. There are some glands in the stomach which produce a digestive juice. An acid is also produce. These mix with the food. The juice acts on some parts of the food. The acid kills harmful germs, if any, in the food. The food from the stomach passes into small intestine little by little.

The small intestine is very long and thin. The length of this tube is abut six metres and kept coiled in the belly and this occupies a large part of it. More digestive juices are produced here. One juice comes from liver. This is called bile. These juices act on the food. Digestion is completed in the small intestine. The digested parts of food are absorbed into the blood. What remains now is a waste material. This passes into the large intestine.

The large intestine is a wide tube. It is shorter than the small intestine. As the waste material passes along, this removes a lot of water from the waste material. The waste becomes fairly a solid. This is periodically thrown out of the body through the anus.

RULES TO BE FOLLOWED FOR PROPER DIGESTION OF FOOD:-

1. Chew the food well before swallowing it.

2. Do not over-eat because over-eating causes indigestion.

3. The swallowed food stays in the stomach for about four hours. So, do not 
  eat anything before 4 hours after taking meal.

4. Wash your hands well before every meal.

5. Before and after eating wash your mouth well.

6. Do not talk or laugh when you are taking food.

7. Do not play or take exercise just before or after meals.

8. Milk is a nourishing food. It can be easily digested. So drink at least a 
     glass or two of milk daily.

9. Eat all the meals at fixed hours.

10.Be cheerful while taking food.