Humans eat food for many different reasons, like the delicious taste, the fun of trying new foods, and the satisfaction of finishing your favorite meal. But, we also need to eat food because it provides our body with energy. In our bodies, there is a system of many organs (Organs are structures within the body.) that turn food that we chew into energy that helps us run, play, read, and think. This system is called the digestive system, and it is constantly working in your body to digest your food and turn it into energy. 

The first step in the digestive system involves the mouth. Even before you take a bite of your food, the delicious smells will make your mouth water with saliva (spit). Once you take a bite, your teeth and tongue help with chewing, and your saliva also helps with softening the food, so it is ready for swallowing.

Once you swallow your food, it goes down the esophagus, which is a stretchy pipe at the back of your throat. You also have a windpipe at the back of your throat, which allows you to breathe, so a covering called the epiglottis covers the windpipe whenever you swallow in order to make sure you are breathing properly and your food does not go down the wrong way. Have you ever started coughing after drinking or eating something too fast? That’s probably because your food or drink went down your windpipe because the epiglottis did not have enough time to cover it to protect it. 

The next step is your stomach, which is where the esophagus deposits the food. Your stomach is here to break down your food and store it, and it is a sack that is shaped like the letter J. In your stomach, gastric juices break down your food into a more liquid-like mixture, and the food is released into your small intestine. 

In your small intestine, which is a long tube that is wrapped up beneath your stomach, the food is broken down even further, in order to harvest the carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. In order to absorb these things, 3 organs are needed: the pancreas, which helps the body digest protein and fat, the liver, which creates a liquid called bile that helps absorb fats, and the gallbladder, which is a storing area for bile. The small intestine keeps the food for several hours, and then passes the parts that the body cannot use onto the large intestine. The liver also helps in filtering out waste.

The large intestine has a part at the beginning called the colon, where the body absorbs the last of the minerals and passes along the waste until it hardens into a solid, which is pushed out by the anus when you go to the bathroom.

The digestive system truly is an important system in your body, because it gives you the energy to live your everyday life. To help your digestive system, make sure to eat healthy, and consume lots of fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods.