Yakult Australia

The digestive system is approximately 8-9 metres long. It begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. Food takes between 1 and 3 days to travel its entire length. The digestive system is lined with bacteria and other microorganisms known as the intestinal flora. Intestinal flora refers to all the microorganisms that live in the human digestive system. Without these our digestive system would not function efficiently. The digestive system has four main functions:

Transportation: movement of food through the digestive system.

Secretion: release of fluids such as enzymes and acids into the digestive system to assist digestion.

Digestion: process of breaking down food to allow release of nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat and fibre), in the form of their smallest components, for absorption into the body.

Absorption: process of nutrients being transported through the digestive system wall to the bloodstream.

		In the average human lifetime, the digestive system handles approximately 65 tons of food and drink. This is equal to the weight of 12 elephants! The mouth is the start of the digestive system. Digestion begins here when each mouthful of food is chewed and mixed with saliva. The teeth physically break down food, whilst saliva chemically begins to breakdown carbohydrates. The tongue shapes the food into a ball ("bolus") so it can be swallowed.

The gall bladder stores bile, then releases it into the small intestine where it breaks up fat, making it easier to digest. Click here for a look at the complete digestive system and a description of it's parts.