THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Food and nutrients

Your food contains nutrients, chemical substances our body needs to perform
properly. There are six types of nutrients.

Proteins essential for growth and repair e.g. meat, fish, cheese, eggs
Carbohydrates essential for fuel, growth, storage e.g. pasta, bread, sugar
Fats fuel, growth, storage (stored beneath skin) e.g. chips, oil, butter
Water growth, transporting substances e.g. drinks, fruits, vegetables
Minerals (salts) growth, repair, protection - .g. cheese, meat, eggs
Vitamins growth, repair, protection vegetables, fruits, butter, fish

Testing for starch and glucose

You can test if there is a certain substance in your food:
If you add iodine to a starch solution, the (originally yellow) iodine will colour purple.
If you add Fehling A and Fehling B to glucose solution and then heat it up, it will turn
orange.

Healthy food
Variation in food is healthy.
The eatwell plate shows the right
amount of food to eat per day.
Tips for healthy eating:
-variate
-get active
-eat less saturated fats
-eat lots of fruits, vegetables and
_bread
-be safe with your food, make sure it
_e.g. is not contaminated with
_bacteria

How much food and drink do you need?

(see table in textbook)
The amount of food you need depends on your:

Gender (boys need more than girls)

Body size (large bodies need more than small bodies)
Age (young people need more energy (food) still growing)
Amount of physical exercise (the more exercise, the more food needed)

When you eat/drink too much too much energy is consumed fuel stored as fat
under your skin body weight increases
When you eat/drink too little not enough energy is consumed body weight will
decrease
A diet consisting of eating nothing/little is not good. If you follow the eatwell plate
you cannot easily gain weight.
The body mass index can be checked to see if you have the correct weight.
It is calculated like this: body weight in kilograms : height in meters

Food and digestion in mammals

Herbivores

Omnivores

Carnivores

Long digestive
tracts, plants take
a long time to
digest.
What do they eat? Plant-derived food
only

Medium-long
digestive tracts

Short digestive
tracts, meat
doesnt take long
to digest.
Animal-derived
food only

Canines

(Mostly) no
canines

Molars

Flat and ridged

Some have large,

pointed canines for
catching prey,
some have canines
the same size as
their incisors.
Flat and sharp

Lengths
alimentary canal

Fair share

Plant- and
animal-derived
food

Always have
canines, to bite
and tear food, to
catch prey, or to
protect
themselves.
Sharp and pointed

In Europe there is plenty of food

In poor countries there might not be enough food
Malnutrition = the permanent lack of food/certain nutrients
Junk food can also lead to malnutrition it contains very few nutrients

Alimentary canal
(learn parts of alimentary canal in textbook)
Food goes through your body in the following way:
Oral cavity pharynx gullet stomach duodenum small intestine
caecum large intestine rectum anus

In the mouth, digestion starts. Teeth and the tongue break down food and mix it with
saliva. Saliva contains an enzyme and mucus. The enzyme in saliva breaks down
starch into sugar.
In the stomach, the food is mixed with digestive juices like gastric juice from the
gastric glands. This contains hydrochloric acid, which kills germs, and an enzyme,
which breaks down proteins.
Digestive juices from the liver and the pancreas are in the duodenum (the tube
between the stomach and small intestine). Bile from the liver emulsifies fat into
droplets. Pancreatic juice from the pancreas contains many different enzymes which
digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
In the small intestine digestion is continued digestive juices are added to the
food
Villi = small folds in the intestinal wall
Villi absorb the digested food into the bloodstream
Caecum = first part of the large intestine connects the small and large intestine
Undigested material and water passes through the large intestine
Water absorbed into the bloodstream
Undigested material leaves body through rectum and anus as faeces
Bacteria inhabit the large intestine they produce an enzyme that digest cellulose

Digestive system
(learn parts of digestive system in book)

Glucose + minerals + vitamins pass straight through the gut wall into the
bloodstream
Digestive juices produced by digestive glands contain enzymes
Enzymes = chemical compounds that speed up reactions
Peristalsis works like this:
Gullet has longitudinal and circular muscles when muscles behind a food particle
contract food is moved forward, even against gravity
Dietary fibre stimulates peristalsis lack of dietary fibre can cause constipation

Teeth
(learn parts of tooth in book)
Three types of teeth:

Incisors used for cutting and

biting off food (in green)
Canines used for cutting and
biting off food slightly more
pointed than incisors (in yellow)
Molars used for grinding and
chewing food (in blue)

The dental formula is used to express the

number of teeth a person has.
The dental formula for an adult human
being is:
512

215

512

215

Which means in total 20 molars, 4 canines and 8 incisors.

Food additives
Food can be preserved from decay in several ways:

Natural preservatives
- by adding sugar
- preserved in vinegar (this is known as pickling)
- adding salt

Freezing
Note: food has to be prepared quickly after unfreezing, or it will be infected
Pasteurising (milk)
Means heating it up, usually to 72 C for 15 second
Gets rid of many bacteria/funghi, does not destroy micro-organisms
Sterilising (milk)
Means heating it up to 113-130 C for 10-30 minutes
Destroys all micro-organisms
Is vacuum packed directly after to stop it from becoming contaminated again
Drying
Removing the water from the food
Sulphites
Mostly used to preserve drinks
May cause headache when consumed in large amounts

Artificial colourings and flavourings can also be added

All digestive juices

What does it do?

Where does it
come from?

Saliva
Gastric juice

Break down starch

Digest proteins

Bile
Pancreatic juice

Emulsify fats
Digest fats,
proteins,
carbohydrates
Digest proteins
and carbohydrates

Salivary glands
Gastric glands in
the lining of the
stomach
Liver
Pancreas

Intestinal juice

Glands in the
intestinal wall of
the small intestine

Where does it
digest/break down
food?
Oral cavity
Stomach

Duodenum
Duodenum

Small intestine