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This marvelously coordinated system captures nutrients from the food we eat to nourish and fuel our bodies. it * t's remarkable what happens to I food after you've swallowed it," I says Andrew Plaut, MD, gastro-enterologist at Tufts Medical Center and author oîKnow Your Gut: Straight Talk on Digestive Problems from a Gastrointestinal Physician. "Your digestive system knows what to do with everything you send its way from whole grains and vegetables to bagels or pretzels. Each nutrient, whether fat, starch, protein, mineral or vitamin, is handled differently and absorbed by different mechanisms." The digestive system captures the nutrients in the foods and beverages we consume so we can absorb and use them for energy, growth, repair, and survival. Much of what is not absorbed is used by our gut bacteria. The remainder is sent on its way as feces. The parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine including the colon, rectum, and anus) along with supporting organs (pancreas, gall bladder, and liver) each have a role to play along the way. A problem with any of these organs has the potential for wide-ranging health consequences.
The Gastrointestinal Tract. The GI tract is considered "outside" our body?a tube, from the mouth to the anus, with a lining that separates the inside of our body from the food we eat. The GI tract determines what is absorbed into our body and which nutrients enter the bloodstream to be shipped to where they are needed.
Plaut likens the GI tract to a slow-moving river. "The contents of the whole gut is dependent on motility, moving with muscles and nerves in a highly coordinated structure," he explains. This movement, not too fast, not too slow, is essential to a well-functioning digestive system.
Various types of food processes, for example grinding, heating, and hydrating, can change nutrient availability and how that food behaves in the GI system.
* Mouth. The amazing journey we call digestion begins even before we put food into our mouths. Just the smell or sight (and sometimes thought) of food stimulates the secretion of saliva, making our mouths water. The first bites signal the production of increased secretion of saliva, which begins to break down starches with the enzyme...