Where does my food go after I eat it? On a journey through my digestive system...

Hello, apple! You look yummy… let’s go!

• My salivary glands make saliva, which has enzymes that start to chemically break down the food
• My teeth and jaw chew the food into small pieces
• My tongue mixes saliva with the food
• Muscle contractions push the food down my oesophagus
• My stomach churns the food, mixes it with strong acid, and turns it into a goopy soup
• My liver makes bile, which helps neutralise stomach acid and digest some vitamins
• Bile is stored in my gall bladder until it’s needed
• In my duodenum, bile and enzymes from my pancreas continue to break down the food
• My pancreas makes enzymes that break down the food
• Muscle contractions push the food through my small intestine, which digests and absorbs the nutrients from the food
• My colon absorbs water and electrolytes
• My rectum passes the leftover waste out into the toilet

See you later, stuff my body doesn’t want!