WCU Nutrition - Digestion

What is the digestive process?

A multistep process of breaking down food into absorbable components

What are the two parts of digestion?

Mechanical and chemical

What is mechanical digestion?

Chewing, grinding food, moving it through GI tract

What is chemical digestion?

Digestive juices and enzymes break down food into absorbable nutrients

What do enzymes do?

Speed up chemical reactions to speed up digestion

What does the mouth do for digestion?

Food enters, mechanical digestion, and chemical digestion

What does the epiglottis do when eating?

It closes so we don’t choke

What is peristalsis?

The rhythmic motion that mixes food with digestive secretions and pushes plus through esophagus. Mechanical

What is the gastroesophageal sphincter?

At bottom of esophagus where its narrow and lets foot into stomach. Prevents back flow of acid.

What does the stomach do?

mechanical digestion by churning food to mix with digestive juices

What does the stomach produce?

Pepsin, Gastric lipase, HCl

What does pepsin do?

Digests proteins

What does gastric lipase do?

Breaks down triglycerides

What is chyme?

What comes after bolus, semiliquid of partially digested food and digestive juices

What is the pyloric sphincter?

Between stomach and small intestine; lets 1tsp chyme to enter small intestine every 30 seconds. Prevents back flow

What are the three segments of the small intestine?

Duodenum, jejunum, ileum

What increases the surface area of the small intestine?

Circular folds, villi, and microvilli

What does the liver do?

Produces bile for fat digestion, detoxes alcohol, stores nutrients, metabolizes carbs, fats, proteins

What does the gallbladder do?

Concentrates and stores bile

What does the pancreas do?

Produces and secretes digestive enzymes and bicarbonate

What does amylase do?

Digests carbohydrates

What does lipase do?

Digests fats

What do trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase do?

What does bile do?

It helps digest fat

What is segmentation?

Mixes chyme with chemical secretions; increases time food comes into contact with intestinal walls

What is pendular movement?

Enhances nutrient absorption in small intestine

What is absorption?

When nutrients that have been completely broken down move into tissues. These nutrients then go into either the circulatory system or the lymphatic system.

What does the ileocecal sphincter do?

Prevent back flow of fecal matter into ileum as chyme enters large intestine

What are the three sections of the large intestine?

Cecum, colon, rectum

What does the large intestine do?

Absorbs water and electrolytes

What is the gut microbiome?

Bactria in colon that produces vitamin K. Breaks down fiber, undigested carbs, produces methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen gas, sulfides

Where is stool/feces stored?

In the rectum

Where is the anus?

Connected to the rectum and controlled by the internal and external sphincters

What does the circulatory system do?

Distributes nutrients through blood - water soluble nutrients

What does the lymphatic system do?

Distributes nutrients through the lymph vessels - fat-soluble nutrients

What does the nervous system do?

Communicates with your gut microbiome, communicates through nerve impulses

What does the endocrine system do?

Slow communication through hormones

Gastrin secured by stomach does what?

Stimulates digestive activities and increases gastric motility

Ghrelin secreted by stomach does what?

Stimulates hunger

Secretin secreted by small intestine causes pancreas to release what?

Bicarbonate

Chlocystokinin secreted by small intestine stimulates pancreas to do what?

Secrete digestive enzymes, control pace of digestion, and contribute to meal satisfaction

What do insulin and glucagon do?

Regulate blood levels of glucose

Insulin is secreted when?

In response to high blood glucose levels

Glucagon is secreted when?

In response to low blood glucose levels

What is flatulence?

release of intestinal gas from rectum

What is constipation?

Insufficient fiber or water intake

What is diarrhea?

Loss of fluids and electrolytes

What is hemorrhoids?

Swelling and inflammation in veins of rectum and anus

What is celiac disease?

Malabsorption disorder related to gluten

What is colon cancer?

One of most common forms of cancer, curable if detected