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<\/a>PART 1: Our Digestive System<\/h2>\nOur digestive system consists of many organs and parts. Each performs its own function while interacting in harmony with others every time we eat. These interesting and complex organs and parts turn the food we eat into specific components we need to fuel, build, maintain, repair, regulate, and protect our bodies.<\/p>\n
Muscles, nerves, reflexes, enzymes, and hormones of the digestive tract all work together to change our food into nutrients that can be absorbed into our main transport systems: our bloodstream and our lymph system. These two transport systems then carry fresh supplies of nutrients throughout our body to nourish every individual cell.<\/p>\n
Our brain monitors our nutritional needs and employs a hunger mechanism to alert us when fresh food is needed. Hunger causes appetite which is the desire for food.\u00a0 The tempting sight, smell, taste and expectation of food stimulate involuntary sensory nerves.\u00a0 By reflex action, these nerves cause muscle and sensory activity in various digestive organs.\u00a0 Salivary glands begin to secrete saliva as stomach glands and muscles become active.<\/p>\n
First we chew our food. After we chew it, our throat swallows it, and our esophagus transports it to our stomach. Our stomach dissolves and sends it on to our small intestine, where it is digested and absorbed into our blood and lymph systems. Our small intestine then sends the undigestible substances to our large intestine where water is absorbed.\u00a0Normal bacteria living there go to work on the residue to extract more nutrients, while producing nourishment for our colon and substances for our body. The waste is then sent on to our rectum, which forms it. Finally,\u00a0our anus expels it.<\/p>\n
Now, that we have the basics of digestion, let’s take a closer look. The following is based in part on an\u00a0excerpt from the The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.<\/p>\n
The large, hollow organs of the digestive system contain muscle that enables their walls to move. The movement of organ walls can propel food and liquid and also can mix the contents within each organ. Typical movement of the esophagus, stomach, and intestine is called peristalsis.<\/p>\n The action of peristalsis looks like an ocean wave moving through the muscle. The muscle of the organ produces a narrowing and then propels the narrowed portion slowly down the length of the organ. These waves of narrowing push the food and fluid in front of them through each hollow organ.<\/p>\n The esophagus is the organ into which the swallowed food is pushed. It connects the throat above with the stomach below. At the junction of the esophagus and stomach, there is a ringlike valve closing the passage between the two organs. However, as the food approaches the closed ring, the surrounding muscles relax and allow the food to pass.<\/p>\n The food then enters the stomach, which has three mechanical tasks to do. First, the stomach must store the swallowed food and liquid. This requires the muscle of the upper part of the stomach to relax and accept large volumes of swallowed material. The second job is to mix up the food, liquid, and digestive juice produced by the stomach. The lower part of the stomach mixes these materials by its muscle action. The third task of the stomach is to empty its contents slowly into the small intestine.<\/p>\n Several factors affect emptying of the stomach, including the nature of the food (mainly its fat and protein content) and the degree of muscle action of the emptying stomach and the next organ to receive the contents (the small intestine). As the food is digested in the small intestine and dissolved into the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, the contents of the intestine are mixed and pushed forward to allow further digestion.<\/p>\n Finally, all of the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls. The waste products of this process include undigested parts of the food, known as fiber, and older cells that have been shed from the mucosa. These materials are propelled into the colon, where they remain to be further broken down by the millions of normal microbes that live there. This usually takes a day or two, until the feces are expelled by a bowel movement.<\/p>\n Use those teeth! It is very important to thoroughly chew food in order to mix it with ptyalin. Resist the urge to wash food down with a beverage! Gulping food with liquids not only diminishes the action of ptyalin but also washes away the ptyalin…such a waste of enzyme production. <\/span><\/p>\n An important action to improve overall digestion is to drink clear liquids before eating in order to provide the digestive tissue and glands with water for optimum function.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just as importantly, as soon as food enters the mouth or even at the sight of food, the stomach produces acid to dissolve food that is eaten. Stomach acid is the powerful hydrochloric acid! One of the unsolved puzzles of the digestive system is why the acid juice of the stomach does not dissolve the tissue of the stomach itself. In healthy people, the stomach mucosa is able to resist the juice, although food and other tissues of the body cannot.<\/p>\n Partially digested food can take 1\u00bd to 6 hours before passing on to the small intestine, depending on the type and amount of food eaten.\u00a0 Rich food, raw food, and\/or large quantities substantially delay passage.<\/p>\n The Liver Is The Dark Red Organ On Top With The Small Green Gallbladder underneath. The Pancreas Is the Oblong Yellow Organ Below Fitting Into The Duodenum.<\/p><\/div>\n Pancreas and duodenum<\/strong>. After the stomach empties the food and juice mixture into the small intestine, the juices of two other digestive organs mix with the food to continue the process of digestion. One of these organs is the pancreas. It produces a juice that contains a wide array of enzymes to break down the carbohydrate, fat, and protein in food. These are lipase to digest fats, protease to digest proteins, and amylase to digest complex carbohydrates.<\/span><\/p>\n Other enzymes that are active in the process come from glands in the wall of the intestine or even a part of that wall. Peptidases finish the digestion of protein and disaccharidases finish the digestion of sugars.<\/span><\/p>\n Liver and gallbladder<\/strong>. The liver produces a digestive juice called bile. The bile is stored between meals in the gallbladder. At mealtime, it is squeezed out of the gallbladder into the bile ducts to reach the intestine (duodenum) and mix with the fat in our food.<\/span><\/p>\n Bile acids dissolve the fat into the watery contents of the intestine, much like detergents that dissolve grease from a frying pan. After the fat is dissolved, it is digested by enzymes from the pancreas and also the lining of the intestine.<\/span><\/p>\n Digested molecules of food, as well as water and minerals from the diet, are absorbed from the cavity of the upper small intestine. Most absorbed materials cross the mucosa into the blood and are carried off in the bloodstream to other parts of the body for storage or further chemical change. As already noted, this part of the process varies with different types of nutrients.<\/p>\n The digestible carbohydrates are broken into simpler molecules by enzymes in the saliva, in juice produced by the pancreas, and in the lining of the small intestine. Starch is digested in two steps. \u00a0First, an enzyme in the saliva and pancreatic juice breaks the starch into molecules called maltose.\u00a0\u00a0Then an enzyme in the lining of the small intestine (maltase) splits the maltose into glucose molecules that can be absorbed into the blood. Glucose is carried through the bloodstream to the liver, where it is stored or used to provide energy for the work of the body.<\/p>\n Table sugar is another carbohydrate that must be digested to be useful. An enzyme in the lining of the small intestine digests table sugar into glucose and fructose, each of which can be absorbed from the intestinal cavity into the blood. Milk contains yet another type of sugar, lactose, which is changed into absorbable molecules by an enzyme called lactase, also found in the intestinal lining.<\/p>\n A fascinating feature of the digestive system is that it contains its own regulators. The major hormones that control the functions of the digestive system are produced and released by cells in the mucosa of the stomach and small intestine. These hormones are released into the blood of the digestive tract, travel back to the heart and through the arteries, and return to the digestive system, where they stimulate digestive juices and cause organ movement.<\/p>\n The hormones that control digestion are gastrin, secretin, and cholecystokinin (CCK):<\/p>\n Additional hormones in the digestive system regulate appetite:<\/p>\n Both these hormones work on the brain to help regulate the intake of food for energy.<\/p>\n Two types of nerves help to control the action of the digestive system. Extrinsic (outside) nerves come to the digestive organs from the unconscious part of the brain or from the spinal cord. They release a chemical called acetylcholine and another called adrenaline. Acetylcholine causes the muscle of the digestive organs to squeeze with more force and increase the “push” of food and juice through the digestive tract. Acetylcholine also causes the stomach and pancreas to produce more digestive juice. Adrenaline relaxes the muscle of the stomach and intestine and decreases the flow of blood to these organs.<\/p>\n Even more important, though, are the intrinsic (inside) nerves, which make up a very dense network embedded in the walls of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. The intrinsic nerves are triggered to act when the walls of the hollow organs are stretched by food. They release many different substances that speed up or delay the movement of food and the production of juices by the digestive organs.<\/p>\n _____________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n _____________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n Celiac disease interferes with digestion by way of inflammation and damage to tissues and structures of the small intestinal lining, the mucosa.\u00a0 Alteration in form and function of the mucosa interferes with the proper absorption of nutrients, causing malabsorption.<\/p>\n Celiac disease causes a variety of gastrointestinal health problems. It affects the harmony of organs by disrupting the action of muscles, nerves, reflexes, enzymes, and hormones. Structural and functional changes lead to disorders such as difficulty swallowing, reflux, dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, constipation and diarrhea.<\/p>\n Our brain monitors nutritional needs and employs a hunger mechanism to alert us when fresh food is needed. Hunger causes appetite which is the desire for food.\u00a0 The tempting sight, smell, taste and expectation of food stimulate involuntary sensory nerves.\u00a0 By reflex action, these nerves cause muscle and sensory activity in various digestive organs.\u00a0 Salivary glands begin to secrete saliva as stomach glands and muscles become active.<\/p>\n While hunger prompts us to get food, it is up to us to choose nutritious foods and avoid toxic foods containing gluten.<\/p>\n Conditions Affecting Hunger and Appetite in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n Anorexia can result from:<\/span><\/p>\n Hunger results primarily from:<\/span><\/p>\n Increased thirst results from:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*<\/em>Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n Chewing food begins digestion.\u00a0 Food is made ready to swallow by the tearing and grinding action of the teeth and the chemical breakdown action of saliva.\u00a0 Saliva adapts to the type of food being chewed, dissolving substances and diluting material that would be too concentrated for the stomach.<\/p>\n Saliva consists of mucin and salivary amylase.\u00a0 Mucin is a slippery carbohydrate-protein complex which protects the lining of the mouth. It lubricates food for swallowing, neutralizes acids present in food and kills many bacteria that enter the mouth with food.\u00a0Salivary amylase works best at breaking down starch when the mouth is neutral or has a slightly alkaline Ph (not acidic).<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Mouth in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n Swallowing that is started by voluntary action of the mouth is completed by reflex through the larynx and pharynx, or throat.\u00a0 The larynx separates the mouth from the pharynx and controls the passage of food into the esophagus while closing access to the trachea (windpipe). The opening of the trachea (glottis) is closed by the automatic action of the attached epiglottis leaning backward over it which keeps food from entering the lungs.\u00a0 Breathing is held by reflex action to prevent choking.<\/p>\n \u00a0 Conditions and Disease of the Pharynx and Larynx in Celiac Disease<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n Located in the middle of the chest, the esophagus is a hollow muscular tube positioned behind the heart and lungs that generally follows the curvature of the spine.\u00a0 The average person\u2019s esophagus is approximately 10 inches long (24 cm). In its resting state, the walls of the esophagus flatten front to back measuring almost 1 inch wide (about 2 cm).<\/p>\n The esophagus performs swallowing through highly coordinated voluntary and involuntary muscle actions (peristalsis) that quickly move the food into the stomach at a rate of 2-3 cm per second.\u00a0 Liquids are able to rapidly pass into the stomach without peristalsis.<\/p>\n The thickened end of the esophagus works in concert with the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to reliably pass food into the stomach.\u00a0 The LES is a strong muscle band surrounding the stomach opening.\u00a0 It relaxes to allow food into the stomach and closes to keep food from going back up the esophagus, preventing reflux.<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Esophagus in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n The stomach is a complex organ that is chemically monitored and controlled by the brain and nervous system.\u00a0 This form-changing sack acts as a holding tank, mixing food until it is dissolved and broken down into a liquid state called chyme.<\/p>\n The shape and size of the stomach can vary considerably, depending on the position of the body and the amount of filling.\u00a0 When empty, the front and back practically touch.\u00a0 A rough organ, the stomach can hold nearly 2 liters of food and fluid because its wall is elastic and made of stretchable folds called rugae.<\/p>\n Located in the upper abdomen, the stomach is composed of four specialized areas: cardiac, fundus, body and pylorus.\u00a0 Each is distinctly different in muscle and gland structure. When food enters the cardia, it first falls to the pylorus initiating strong muscle contractions that push the food up to the fundus.\u00a0 Muscle contractions of the main body follow, one after another, alternating with pylorus contractions.\u00a0 These powerful muscles churn food and mix it with gastric juice, dissolving and breaking it down into liquid.\u00a0 The pylorus regulates the mixing of food and gastric juice for proper consistency before allowing it to pass into the small intestine.<\/p>\n Gastric juice is made of high concentration of hydrochloric acid and enzymes, pepsin and gastric lipase.\u00a0 Hydrochloric acid dissolves food tissues and kills most bacteria that are swallowed with food.\u00a0 Pepsin begins the digestion of proteins, working best in an acid environment.\u00a0 Gastric lipase is the enzyme that begins fat digestion.<\/p>\n Cells lining the stomach secrete about 3 liters of gastric juice from numerous, microscopic glands every day.\u00a0 The secretion of gastric juice is controlled by a hormone called gastrin.\u00a0 Stomach cells are replaced every three days due to the erosive effect of gastric juice.<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Stomach in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n The liquid mass, chyme, enters the small intestine where the work of digestion and absorption of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and bioflavanoids takes place. The small intestine is a complex, hollow muscular tube comprised of three segments: the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.\u00a0 It has an overall length of 22 feet (6.8 meters) and is the longest section of the digestive tract.<\/p>\n The inside lining of the small intestine is formed into tightly packed folds that overlay the muscle layer.\u00a0 This folding greatly increases the lining\u2019s surface area contacting the chyme.\u00a0 The folds are covered with multitudinous, tiny, hollow projections called villi.\u00a0 The barely visible villi (0.5 to 1.5 mm long) jut out into the passing chyme.\u00a0 By this formation, more than 4,000,000 villi provide significantly more surface area for absorbing nutrients than the folds alone can provide.<\/p>\n The walls of villi are made up of microscopic absorptive cells that are continually exposed to digested nutrients moving along their surface.\u00a0 These cells do the actual work of absorbing nutrients.\u00a0 In addition, each absorptive cell has numerous microscopic projections called microvilli.\u00a0 The microvilli are collectively called the \u201cbrush border.\u201d<\/p>\n The prodigious numbers of microvilli dramatically increase absorption.\u00a0 Altogether, the folds, villi and microvilli in a healthy small intestine make up a huge surface area for absorbing nutrients calculated to equal the size of a tennis court.<\/p>\n Enzymes that finish digestion of the disaccharides, lactose, sucrose and maltose, into simple sugars and small peptide chains into their amino acids are produced in the villi.<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Small Intestine in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine, measuring 8 to 11 inches (20 to 28 cm).\u00a0 Muscular, vigorous, freely moveable, and capable of adapting its course according to the stomach contents, it is centrally located in the upper abdomen, touching parts of the pancreas, liver, gall bladder, right kidney, large intestine and stomach.<\/p>\n The duodenum continuously receives chyme from the stomach.\u00a0 Because the duodenum is naturally alkaline, the strong acid contents entering from the stomach stimulate the release of secretin, a hormone, from the duodenal wall.\u00a0 Secretin signals the release of bicarbonate, a natural antacid, from the adjacent pancreas.\u00a0 The strongly alkaline bicarbonate quickly neutralizes the acidic chyme.<\/p>\n Three juices act on chyme.\u00a0 Duodenal juice splits proteins. \u00a0Bile, produced by the liver and delivered by way of the gallbladder, emulsifies fat to render it into smaller particles. Pancreatic juice digests starches, proteins and fats.<\/p>\n Other nutrients are also absorbed through the wall of the duodenum.\u00a0 Most vitamins, excepting vitamin A, which is changed into retinol, and niacin, which is changed into nicotinimide and nicotinic acid, are absorbed here unchanged into the bloodstream. Minerals absorbed here include calcium, chloride, flouride, sulfur, iron, copper, magnesium, and zinc.<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Duodenum in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *Search Health Conditions<\/a> for Details. \n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n Liquid chyme enters the jejunum, the second part of the small intestine.\u00a0 The jejunum continues the work of dismantling and preparing nutrients for entry into the body.<\/p>\n The jejunum is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in length with an average diameter measuring 1 \u00bc to 1 1\/2 inches (3 to 3.5 cm).\u00a0 The lining forms tightly packed, circular folds on the inner muscle wall varying in height from 3 to 10 millimeters.\u00a0 Allowing for huge numbers of villi that cover them, the tiny folds maximize absorption area in a limited space and physically slow the passage of chyme for longer contact with villi.<\/p>\n Three carbohydrate-splitting enzymes, (disaccharidases), are embedded in microvillus cells. These enzymes finish carbohydrate digestion by splitting complex sugars, or disaccharides, into simple sugars:<\/p>\n Protein-splitting enzymes (dipeptidases) are also located in the microvillus. Dipeptidases finish the digestion of protein by breaking down protein fragments (dipeptides) into amino acids. Without these enzymes, proteins cannot be properly absorbed.<\/p>\n Other important nutrients that are absorbed in the jejunum include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, magnesium, and folic acid.<\/p>\n Conditions and Disease of the Jejunum in Celiac Disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>The first major muscle movement occurs when food or liquid is swallowed. Although we are able to start swallowing by choice, once the swallow begins, it becomes involuntary and proceeds under the control of the nerves.<\/p>\nProduction of Digestive Juices<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Mouth.<\/strong> The digestive glands that act first are in the mouth – the salivary glands. Saliva produced by these glands contains an enzyme called ptyalin (or salivary amylase) that begins to digest <\/span>into smaller molecules any starch that is contained in food.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Stomach.<\/strong> The next set of digestive glands is in the stomach lining. They produce the enzymes pepsin that begins the digestion of protein and lipase that begins the digestion of fat.<\/p>\n<\/a>Absorption and Transport of Nutrients<\/h2>\n
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How Is the Digestive Process Controlled?<\/h2>\n
1. Hormone Regulators<\/h4>\n
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2.\u00a0 Nerve Regulators<\/h4>\n
PART 2:\u00a0Impact Of Gluten and Celiac Disease On Digestion<\/h2>\n
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Impact on Hunger and Appetite<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Mouth<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Pharynx And Larynx<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Esophagus<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Stomach\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Small Intestine<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Duodenum<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Impact On The Jejunum<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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