Sarah McGuigan

The journey of the chocolate

Sarah ate some chocolate
The chocolate starts its journey with ingestion, when Sarah puts the food
into her mouth. The mouth is where food enters the alimentary canal and
digestion begins. Her teeth grind up the chocolate making it smaller. This
is known as mechanical digestion. Additionally the salivary glands produce
saliva containing Amylase which is a type of enzyme. This type of enzyme
catalyses the breakdown of sugars and starches. Enzymes also kills any
harmful microorganisms that could have been in the food when it was
eaten. Saliva results in making the food moist, this will allow food to be
swallowed easier. Once Sarah swallows the food, it enters her
Oesophagus. A process called Peristalsis occurs. This is when the two sets
of muscle contract which results in the bolus of food being pushed down
into the stomach. When the chocolate reaches the stomach, the food is
churned up using strong acid and enzymes. The stomach works the best
in acidic conditions. The nutrients from the food are absorbed in the small
intestine. The chocolate then reaches the small intestine which is also
known as Duodenum and ileum. The enzymes in the small intestines work
best in alkaline conditions, but the food is acidic after being in the
stomach. A substance called bile is produced in the liver and stored in the
gall bladder. Bile neutralises the acid to provide the alkaline conditions
needed in the small intestine. Digestive enzymes are produced in the
pancreas. After three hours of the chocolate being in the small intestine,
the chocolate becomes thin and watery due to bile and other juices from
the pancreas, liver and gall bladder. These organs send these juices
because the small intestine cannot break down the food by itself. The
ileum has a lining of millions of fingers which are called villi. These absorb
the chemicals that are needed in our bodies. Some parts of the chocolate
that cant be digested moves into the large intestines which is also known
as the colon. In the large intestines the water is removed from the
liquidised substance to form a more solid material called faeces. Faeces is
made up of mainly fibre. The chocolate will now have a long wait as it
passes through the large intestines. In 24-48 hours later, the faeces enters
the rectum. The rectum is where faeces is stored. Finally a process called
egestion occurs which the faeces is being pushed out of the anus.