Digestion is how your body breaks food into tiny pieces your cells can use. It starts in your mouth when you chew. Your teeth cut and grind food into smaller bits. Saliva has chemicals that begin to break down starches. Your tongue helps push food to the back of your throat. After you swallow, food travels down your food pipe to your stomach. This turns a meal into a thick mixture called chyme. In your stomach, strong muscles churn the food. Glands in the stomach lining release acid and chemicals.

The acid helps kill germs and break down proteins. The chemicals chop proteins into smaller pieces. The stomach walls protect themselves with a layer of mucus. The stomach can hold about a litre of food and liquid. After a few hours, chyme leaves the stomach and goes into the small intestine. The stomach's job is important for breaking down food. The small intestine is a long, coiled tube where most digestion happens. It gets bile from the liver and chemicals from the pancreas. These help break down fats, carbs, and protein.

The lining has tiny bumps called villi. The villi soak up nutrients into the blood. Blood carries them to all parts of the body. The small intestine is about six metres long in adults. The process here takes several hours. What is left then goes into the large intestine. The large intestine is wider but shorter. Its main job is to take in water and minerals from the leftover bits. As it does this, the waste becomes solid. This waste is called poo and is stored in the rectum. When you go to the toilet, it leaves your body. The whole process from eating to going to the toilet takes about one to three days. Your digestive system works hard every day.

After a few hours, chyme leaves the stomach and goes into the small intestine.