Digestion

Question: DIGESTION!!!!!!!!!!!? What is the importance of digestion in the food chain

Answer: Without digestion we can't get energy from the food we eat. So not getting energy takes the point away from eating. If we don't eat there is no food chain.

Question: digestion!!!? Identify three nutrients that do not require digestion before being absorbed into the human blood stream from the digestive tract.

Answer: I think they were vitamins, minerals, and water.

Question: How digestion is affected after removal of gall bladder? Removal of the gall bladder affects the digestion of one component in the diet. Name the component and explain how digestion might be affected. Please provide as much details as possible. Thank you!

Answer: Removal of the gallbladder is going to severly inhibit the digestion and absorption of fats (triglycerides, cholesterols, phospholipids) and other fat soluble substance. The gallbladder stores, concentrates and secretes bile. Bile, which is produced by hepatocytes, contains bile acids, cholesterol, phospholipids, and bile pigments. What this mixture essentially does is causes emulsification of fats. Imagen the old oil and water in a bottle experiment that we all have seen in school. The water soluble and fat soluble substances are seperated into layers. The use of bile in the small intestine is the equivalent to shaking up the oil-water bottle; there are a bunch of small fat droplets distributed throughout the bottle. In the body these small droplets are called mixed micelles and are sustained by bile salts. This increases the surface area of the fat, which increases the ability of the lipolytic enzymes to act on the fats. Without bile the there is no formation of mixed micelles. I should note that the bile acids in bile are bipolar, allowing the non-polar end to interact with the fat and the polar end to interact with the non-polar substances. The digested fat molecules are still contained in the mixed micelles and are released close to the brush border (at the "unstirred layer"), primarily in the duodenum and jejunum. The digested fats are then able to diffuse across the lipid membrane of the cells of the duodenum and jejunum. With the reduction of bile due to the inablilty to store it, the surface area of fat is greatly reduced. This reduces digestion and thus absortion of fats. One symptom that would be present in the absence of the gallbladder would be steatorrhea (fat content in the feces). However, there are lipolytic enzymes at work regardless. Also, triglycerides absorption operates at about 50%, which is one of the major ingested fat molecules. Once again, the activity of lipolytic enzymes are severly reduced due to a significant decrease in surface area. The effect on fat soluble vitamins (A, K, E,and D) are not as significant. I would speculate that enzymes don't act on these vitamins (I would need to verify this, however.) Please note that I may have made some slight generalizations.

Question: How would you imitate digestion in the stomach at home? I need to imitate the digestion that happens in the stomach at home. What materials should I buy? Also, do you know of any good websites that can actually show you how to imitate digestion? Thanks!

Answer: Muriatic acid is ~30% by volume hydrochloric and can be more readily obtained than straight HCL acid. At the hardware store it is sold as concrete cleaner. Drano is a weak acid solution. Please use gloves for any experiment involving acids of any kind. If you could put your hand in your stomach, it would dissolve your flesh and muscles in minutes.

Question: What phases of digestion are regulated primarily by the nervous system? What phases of digestion are regulated primarily by the nervous system? Which are regulated primarily by hormones, and which are regulated by a combination of the two?

Answer: Cephalic phase, is regulated by the hypothalamus half and half in the gastric phase The one primarily regulated by hormones is the intestinal phase

Question: What is the role of mechanical digestion in vertebrates? Also, what is a vertebrate? I looked it up in the biology book, and it says an animal with a backbone? I don't understand how this relates with the question, but any-who. Does anybody know What the role of mechanical digestion in vertebrates is ?

Answer: mechanical digestion eases chemical digestion an example is chewing, if we didnt chew we couldnt swallow and digest typically vertebrates are the only beings that chew really (lampreys birds snakes all swallow directly) verebrates are animals with a spinal colomn and typically the alimentary canal runs along the spine

Question: What is the difference between catabolism and digestion? Digestion is defined as: the process of breaking down food into molecules small enough for the body to absorb. Catabolism is defined as: the metabolic breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones what is the difference between the two processes?

Answer: Digestion occurs first and catabolism occurs second. Digestion takes whole ingested food and breaks it down into simple enough molecules for the body to absorb into the circulatory system and eventually the cells. After absorption, the cells will take these molecules and start to break down the polymers (polysaccharides, polypeptides, lipids and nucleic acids) into their respective monomers (monosaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides).

Question: What are the best ways to improve digestion? Ok, I know to eat vegetables and whole grains, drink plenty of pure water, and exercise, especially walking. What other tips can you give me to improve digestion? Foods to avoid, foods to eat more of, herbs that help, etc. Thanks!

Answer: Your question is unclear. What do you mean by 'Digestion'? Are you having problems with BM, or abdominal pain, gas, what? Without any further information, all I can suggest is more fiber. You need a mix of soluble (good for cholesterol) and insoluble (good for BM). I make my own supplement by mixing Miller's Barn (wheat bran, insoluble) and flax seed meal, equal parts by weight. I take about 1/2 cup per day, mixed with fat free yogurt (it covers the flavor) but you have to work your way up to that. Start with one tablespoon per day, then add another tablespoon every two weeks - you'll be up to full dose in about two months. Don't rush it, or you will have hideous and painful gas. In fact, you will have gas anyway, until your intestinal bacteria adjust to your new diet. Stick to it, and the gas will go away. An added benefit is that you will lose about five pounds as your gut bacteria change and you absorb less fat. Educate yourself! http://www.webmd.com/

Question: What are the end products of the digestion of sucrose? I am doing a biology honors lab and I can not figure out one of the questions. It is due tomorrow so PLEASE answer. What are the end products of the digestion of sucrose?

Answer: Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of Fructose and Glucose. so the answer is: Glucose and Fructose.

Question: How much time for digestion - in the presence and absence of enzymes? For a normal person, how much time will it take to complete digestion? Also, how much time will it take to complete digestion in the absence of all digestive and other related enzymes?

Answer: enzymes are biocatalyst which speed up the reaction. complete digestion occur in 3 to 6 hours. while in its absence it will take a longer time ,even up to few days.

Question: How could the overuse of antacids inhibit protein digestion? I can not seem to find this answer any where can some one please help me? How could the overuse of antacids inhibit protein digestion?

Answer: Here is an excerpt from the website below. It does explain IN GREAT DETAIL the answer to your question. "One thing that can de-nature proteins, including enzymes, is a change in pH, and in the case of enzymes, this would cause them to cease functioning. While hydrochloric acid, itself, cannot break peptide bonds (Cunningham, 1989), the low pH in the stomach denatures proteins in food, thereby changing their shape and exposing their peptide bonds so that pepsin can break these bonds. Even left-over salivary amylase is denatured, ceases to work, and is digested (Campbell, 1987). While hydrochloric acid does not actually digest food, it does help by softening the “glue” between the cells of various foods, making those foods more vulnerable to digestion by pepsin. Hydrochloric acid also helps by killing bacteria that are swallowed with food (Campbell, 1987). The smell and/or taste of food triggers an initial burst of gastric juice (pepsin, HCl, etc.). Once food is in the stomach, its presence there triggers the release of the hormone, gastrin into the blood system. As this hormone recirculates to the stomach, it stimulates continued production of gastric juice. The presence of food dilutes the hydrochloric acid, so stomach pH is a little higher when food is present, stimulating the secretion of more gastric juice. As the stomach gradually empties, the pH decreases. If the pH of the stomach becomes too low, that inhibits secretion of gastrin, thus reducing the secretion of gastric juices. This is an example of a negative feedback loop (Campbell, 1987), one of the many involved in homeostasis. Antacids do just what their name suggests: they neutralize the normal stomach acid (HCl), causing the pH to rise to a nearly neutral pH of around 6 to 7. As the pH rises above 4, pepsin activity decreases or stops. Some types of antacids, made of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or calcium carbonate (CaCO3), are easily absorbed into a person’s body and can cause a pH imbalance, possibly leading to kidney damage or other problems (Berkow, 1987). Using negative feedback loops as mentioned above, the body attempts to keep the pH level of the stomach fairly constant, and thus it has been shown that for many people, consumption of antacids actually increases the amount of acid secreted in an effort to restore normal pH. One source states that antacids neutralize the stomach acid, preventing proper digestion and interfering with absorption of nutrients, thereby leading to continued indigestion. This source further states that antacids are useless for gas and bloating, and that CaCO3 antacids can cause a rebound effect in which the stomach produces more acid than before, once the antacid’s effects wear off (Balch and Balch, 1997). There also have been cases of people with self-diagnosed “heartburn” who really were on the verge of a heart attack, who should have been going to the emergency room instead of popping antacids. Thus, while consumption of antacids may be necessary when prescribed by a doctor to treat gastric ulcer, casual use is probably not a good idea. Just because they are “over-the-counter” drugs does not mean they are harmless. "

Question: How does digestion of a ham sandwich with lettuce and mayo work? I'm trying to discover the digestion of a ham sandwich with ham as the protein, the bread as the carbohydrates, lettuce as the fiber, and mayo as a fat. Where and how does each food item go through in digestion? Like, to start off, the mouth and the salivary and amalase etc, where does digestion begin for each food item? thanks:) Do all of the food digest together or seperately? sorry :P

Answer: haha i have to do this too. its 2 am rite now and i have a test on this in the afternoon but this is what i got so far: amylase partly breaks down the bread (a starch) it goes through the esophagus and into the stomach protein (the ham) is digested in the stomach it all gets digested in the small intestine water is taken out from the chyme in the large intestine the finished waste comes out the anus thats a really basic version and it might be wrong though good luck with that tho

Question: What are some good vegetarian foods to help digestion and my stomach in general? I'm a 15 year old female and i'm a vegetarian and i was wondering what good foods would help digestion and stomach aches/ problems cause i've been having uncharacteristic stomach aches lately, etc. Thanks in advance!

Answer: Apples and carrots are good for that and awesomely, they also give you healthy and soft skin. Drink green tea and chamomile tea for stomach aches and they also increase metabolism. Just eat lots of fruits and veggies in general and i think you'll be fine!! Pick me as best answer plzz!

Question: What kind of foods are good or bad for digestion when mixing together? Good day, may you all be blessed with eternal happiness! I would like to know, what kind of foods are good and bad for digestion when eaten together? For example, I heard it's good to mix grains and beans, or carrots with oils, as it increases their nutritional value...So I would like to know much more about it, and would appreciate any information on such, in my opinion, important topic.

Answer: Not sure about specifically good for digestion but I do know that to help the body absorb Iron we need to eat/drink vitamin C at the same time. So if you are eating iron rich food, you should drink a glass of pure orange juice at the same time to help absorb that iron. We will absorb much less without the Vitamin C.

Question: why is good digestion important for healthy living? I am doing an assignment on digestion in science and i would like to find out as much information as possible.

Answer: Good digestion = Good absorption of nutrients into your body = good healthy living!

Question: What is the chemical process that occurs during the digestion of food? Is it hydrolysis or dehydration synthesis. I know the answers is one or the other but my problem is doesn't both of them happen in digestion? And yes. it has to be one or the other =/ It has to be either dehydration synthesis or hydrolysis ><

Answer: Yeah, all the usable parts of food (called nutrients) can't be used by your body until they are absorbed into the cells & tissues of your body. They can't be absorbed unless they are small & soluble --- soluble means that they can be dissolved. So the proteins, carbohydrates, & fats in a turkey sub have to be digested, i.e. changed into a form that can be absorbed and used by the body. Now, I hate to bring-up haunting material from the past, but I have to. Digestion involves the chemical process of HYDROLYSIS (SCREAM NOW). And the main nutrients in food exist as large proteins, fats, & carbohydrates; which are converted into small amino acids, simple sugars (monosaccharides), and fatty acids. Yes, it's that biochemistry stuff again (SCREAM AGAIN). Without re-hashing all that chemistry stuff, let me attempt to summarize the main chemical nutrients, their functions, & their small subunits. To make it less painful, let's think about a Turkey sub with lettuce, tomato, peppers, oil, and provolone cheese while we do this ..................