How our body digests food — Science, 7–10 years
Digestion breaks food into small useful parts that the body can absorb and use. Science, 7–10 years.
The idea
Digestion is the body’s way of taking a piece of food apart. Chewing breaks it into smaller pieces, and juices help change it into nutrients small enough to pass through the intestine wall. The blood then carries those nutrients to cells, while leftover material leaves the body.
Why it matters
Food contains useful materials, but a whole apple or sandwich is too large for cells to take in. The problem is how to move useful parts from the meal into the body without losing the rest. The digestive system solves this through crushing, mixing, chemical changes and absorption.
A worked example
Follow a bite of apple. In the mouth, teeth crush it and saliva wets it; swallowing sends it down the oesophagus. In the stomach, it mixes with digestive juices. In the small intestine, useful nutrients pass into the blood. Water is removed later, and the remaining waste leaves the body.
A common trap
It is tempting to think that the stomach does all the work because food stays there and may feel heavy. In fact, digestion starts in the mouth and continues through a long tube. Most nutrient absorption happens in the small intestine, not in the stomach alone.
Where it is used
Knowing about digestion helps us understand why a varied diet supplies different nutrients, and why fibre and water help the intestines work. Doctors use this knowledge to investigate stomach aches and illnesses. Food labels also describe nutrients that the digestive system can absorb.
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