Digestion of Food

Todays topic for ICSC biology class 6 is Digestion of Food .Digestive System in Humans include parts of digestive system and associated digestive glands.

To see the part 1of this chapter click on this link : https://lessonstobelearneda-z.blogspot.com/2022/03/digestive-system-in-humans.html .Associated digestive glands include the glands that are associated with the process of digestion.These include the following -

1.Salivary Glands - These glands occur in three pairs in the mouth and secrete saliva that helps in moistening and swallowing the food.It kills the germs. It also convert starch into sugar with the help of an enzyme known as amylase.

2.Liver - It is the largest gland present on the right side of the body. It secretes bile which is yellowish green in colour.Bile helps in breaking down fats.Liver helps in the storage of sugar in the form of glycogen and helps in the regulation of level of sugar in the blood.

3.Pancreas - It is found behind the stomach and secretes juices to digest the food that consist of many enzymes such as amylase (to digest starch), lipase (to digest fats) and trypsin to digest proteins.

Digestion of food

What happens to food in the mouth?

Teeth help in chewing the food in the mouth. The enzyme salivary amylase present in the saliva changes starch into sugar.

What happens to food in pharynx and oesophagus?

Food moves to the pharynx from the mouth and from the pharynx, it passes to the oesophagus. Due to the contraction of muscles in the oesophagus known as peristalsis food is pushed into the stomach. Digestion doesn't occur in the pharynx and oesophagus.

What happens to food in the stomach?

Glands present in the stomach releases digestive juices such as HCl that help in killing the bacteria and digesting the food. These consist of the enzymes pepsin (to convert proteins to proteoses and peptones) and renin (to convert casein, a type of milk protein into paracasein).The enzyme renin is more active in infants than that of adults.Food changes into a paste like substance in the stomach known as chyme.This chyme passes to the small intestine for further digestion.

What happens to food in the small intestine?

Food is mixed with bile and pancreatic juices in the small intestine.Bile helps to digest fats.No enzymes are present in the bile.It helps in the process of digestion by providing an alkaline medium for the action of enzymes present in the pancreatic juice such as lipase, trypsin etc.

Digestion of Fats

Lipase

Emulsified fats ➡ fatty acids + glycerol

Digestion of Proteins

Trypsin

Proteins, proteoses, ➡ polypeptides

peptones ⬇

amino acids

Digestion of Carbohydrates

Maltase

Maltose ➡ glucose

Lactase

Lactose ➡ glucose + galactose

Sucrase

Sucrose ➡ glucose + fructose

The villi that consist of blood capillaries absorb the digested food from which food passes into the blood stream.

What happens to food in the large intestine?

The process of digestion or absorption don't take place in the large intestine.Here water is absorbed from the undigested food to convert it into faeces that are stored in the rectum and are thrown out of the body through anus.

What is assimilation?

In this process the food is utilized by the body for various life processes.Excess amount of food is stored in different body parts to use later. For example -

Excess glucose is changed into fats and is stored as body fats or adipose tissue.

Excessive fats Adipose tissue

Excess glucose is changed into glycogen to store in the liver.

Glucose Glycogen

Excess amino acids are converted into urea by the kidneys which is removed from the body in the form of urine.

Amino acids Urea

What is indigestion?

Indigestion refers to the discomfort that occurs in the upper part of the abdomen (area between chest and pelvis).It is not a disease.

What are the symptoms of indigestion?

Symptoms of indigestion are -

*pain in abdomen

*nausea or vomiting

*burning in stomach

*gas

*heart burn

What are the causes of indigestion?

These are the causes of indigestion -

*overeating

*eating spicy or oily food

*lying down soon after taking the meals

*drinking excessive water while having meals

How to prevent indigestion?

*taking a balanced diet and healthy food items

*avoiding oily, spicy and junk food

*avoiding overeating

*walking for sometime after meals

*avoiding drinking too much water between meals

Hope you liked the topic Digestion of Food for ICSC biology class 6.Please share it and comment if you want article on any other topic. You can practice this topic using Worksheets for Science.

Note : To follow the whole chapter just follow the link given for part 1 of the chapter.

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