Where does my food go after I eat it?

Here’s what happens to your food as it travels through your body.

Where does my food go after I eat it? On a journey through my digestive system...

Hello, apple! You look yummy… let’s go!

  • My salivary glands make saliva, which has enzymes that start to chemically break down the food
  • My teeth and jaw chew the food into small pieces
  • My tongue mixes saliva with the food
  • Muscle contractions push the food down my oesophagus
  • My stomach churns the food, mixes it with strong acid, and turns it into a goopy soup
  • My liver makes bile, which helps neutralise stomach acid and digest some vitamins
  • Bile is stored in my gall bladder until it’s needed
  • In my duodenum, bile and enzymes from my pancreas continue to break down the food
  • My pancreas makes enzymes that break down the food
  • Muscle contractions push the food through my small intestine, which digests and absorbs the nutrients from the food
  • My colon absorbs water and electrolytes
  • My rectum passes the leftover waste out into the toilet

See you later, stuff my body doesn’t want!