Categories: All - intestine - molecules - digestion - enzymes

by yoshe watson 16 years ago

349

YOSHE-BIOLOGY-chemical breakdown of food

The human digestive process involves both mechanical and chemical breakdown of food to convert large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble ones that can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

YOSHE-BIOLOGY-chemical breakdown of food

BIOLOGY-chemical breakdown of food

enzymes speed things up

an example of a protease enzyme is pepsin
an example of a carbohydrate enzyme is amylase
fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol in the small intestine
proteins are broken down into amino acids in the stomach and the small intestine
starch is broken down into glucose in the mouth and small intestine
lipase breaks down fat molecules
carbohydrase breaks down carbohydrate molecules
protease breaks down protein molcules
enzymes are specific, there are three main enzymes in your system
after teeth have chewed up food and stomach has churned food up, food molecules are still too big and insoluble to pass into the bloodstream
carbohydrates, proteins and fats are large, insoluble food molecules

help with digestion

after mechanical breakdown, food must be broken into smaller molecules as it passes through the digestive system
digestion breaks down large food molecules into small molecules so they can pass into our bloodstream
we need nutrients from our food to keep our bodies healthy