Otherwise, we tend to overlook it and put all sorts of things into it without a second thought.
However, knowing how your digestive system is supposed to work can help you improve your overall digestive health.
Saliva production through our salivary glands is the first step in digestion.
Nipitphon Na Chiangmai /EyeEm/Getty Images
Food breakdown begins in our mouths through chewing, and the enzymes present in saliva.
Saliva is predominantly water but does contain other substances.
It can be stimulated by thinking about or smelling food.
After we’ve chewed our food, it’s formed into abolus(a small, round mass).
The bolus is then moved down through the esophagus through coordinated muscle movements known as peristalsis.
Your Stomach Produces Hydrochloric Acid
It’s the same stuff that masons use to clean bricks.
For a full meal, this process takes approximately two to three hours.
The pancreas also releases bicarbonate, which neutralizes any acid that’s made its way out of the stomach.
The final breakdown and absorption of nutrients occur in the second two parts.
Thus, dietary fiber is essential for both digestive and overall health.
Your large intestine receives about one quart of liquid daily from the small intestine.
A tortuous colon is longer than usual.
The colon ends up with extra twists and turns for this longer tube to fit in your abdomen.
This condition is relatively rare.
Your Body Actually Has Two Brains
Your brain and digestive system work in close partnership.
The average stomach holds up to 4 pounds of food, which would be quite uncomfortable.
It is most common during eating and just afterward but can occur anytime.
The average person burps 30 times per day!
They must also eat many times throughout the day to obtain the proper number of calories.
Farts That Contain Hydrogen Sulfide Smell Bad
The vast majority of farts are odorless.
Some fartssome put the number at around 1%do smell.
The gasses that cause the smell vary somewhat, but mostsmelly fartscontain hydrogen sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that causes most of the smell in farts.
It tends to smell like rotten eggs.
Other gases that can contribute to odor are methane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
These enzymes work to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fat in food.
This occurs in the small intestine, where the nutrients are absorbed.
National Institutes of Health.
News in Health.Keeping your gut in check.
National Cancer Institute.Removing stomach to prevent cancer has lasting consequences.
Cary Gastroenterology Associates.Why do my farts smell so bad?
2016;17(2):187-193. doi:10.2174/138920021702160114150137
