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Leading Roles
Stomach
Well known for churning & storing food.
Key strength:
Fully equipped to protect our body from hydrochloric acid, which helps liquefy food.(1)
Hidden treasure:
Intrinsic Factor is a protein that helps aid the absorption of vitamin B12 in the lower part of the small intestine. (1)
Small Intestine
Well known for digestion & absorption of nutrients.
Key strength:
Partners with the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder to receive pancreatic secretions and bile. These secretions mix in the common bile duct before they enter the upper portion of the small intestine (duodenum).(2)
Hidden Treasure:
Covered with epithelial cells that secrete enzymes that help continue the digestion of partially digested food from the stomach (chyme), and makes it readily available for absorption.(1,2)
Large Intestine
Well known for removing waste from the body.
Key strength:
Absorbs water and electrolytes used by the body and provides temporary storage for waste.(1)
Hidden Treasure:
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), produced by fermentation that occurs in the large intestine, provide fuel needed by intestinal cells to promote cell renewal & function, improve immune function and regulate gene expression. (1)
Supporting Cast
Pancreas
Essential Role:
The pancreas contains glands that create and secrete enzymes that aid in the digestion of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.(1)
Hidden Treasure:
Pancreatic juice is essential in neutralizing the hydrochloric acid in chyme after it enters the duodenum from the stomach.(2)
Sodium bicarbonate in the pancreatic juice neutralizes the acidic chyme allowing enzymes to efficiently and effectively digest food while in the duodenum.(1)
Liver
Essential Role:
The liver secretes bile that enters the duodenum from the bile duct. The alkaline bile acids play an essential role in the digestion and absorption of lipids.(2)
The liver takes in toxins that have been ingested and facilitates the proper removal of these toxins from the body.
Hidden Treasure:
The majority of the nutrients absorbed in the liver will travel through the portal vein and be stored in the liver, changed into other substances, or released into the body. (1)
Gallbladder
Essential Role:
The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile, which is a mixture of mainly water, bile salts, cholesterol, and slight pigment amounts. (1)
Hidden Treasure:
Daily, the gallbladder secretes 1 liter of bile in response to the presence of food in the duodenum and stomach. (1)
References
1. Mahan LK, Raymond JL. Krause’s Food & the Nutrition Care Process. 14th ed. Saunders; 2016.
2. Stipanuk MH, Caudill MA. Biochemical, Physiological, and Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition. 4th ed. Saunders; 2018.
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