Healthy Digestive Physiology

When food touches the tongue it sends a message directly to the brain that food is coming. The brain perceives every mineral, fat, carbohydrate, protein, etc. that touches the tongue. In response, it sends the appropriate enzyme for what it senses. The digestive glands that act first are in the mouth - the salivary glands. Saliva produced by these glands contains an enzyme that begins to digest the starch from food into smaller molecules.

Digestive system contains important digestive enzymes to support healthy gastrointestinal function. The word “enzyme” comes from Greek words. Enzymes were given this name when they were discovered while scientists were studying the process of fermentation. Enzymes help sustain life. Almost every chemical reaction that takes place in all living cells of plants, animals, humans, and even of some bacteria begins by the stimulation of some specific enzyme.

Enzymes are catalysts, meaning they speed up chemical reactions without changing themselves. They are the catalysts that set off multitudes of specific activities and processes throughout the human body. While hundreds of different enzymes have been discovered to date, each enzyme performs a singular function. Although the enzymes are each responsible for initiating a process that only that particular enzyme can accomplish, they are related to one another enough to allow classification into one of six categories.

Ingested food is broken into small particles by the teeth. The more one chews his food, the smaller the particles; the smaller the particles, the easier it is for enzymes to release the trapped nutrients. Before swallowing, we must chew our food thoroughly or digestion becomes incomplete before we’ve even started.

• How Stomach Digestion Works


• Why Small Intestine Digestion is so Important


• Why Large Intestine Digestion Depends on Small Intestine Digestion


• How Pancreas Digestion Works


• Why Liver Digestion is so critical


• How Nerve Regulators Work


• Bacteria and Digestion


• How to Increase Good Bacteria