2595: How Long Does It Take to Digest Food? All About Digestion by Stephanie Watson with Healthline on Microbiota

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[00:01:41] All about digestion by Stephanie Watson with Healthline.com. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, reading you some of the most popular health and fitness blogs out there with permission from the websites and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:55] And with that, let's get right to the post as we optimize your life. How Long Does It Take to Digest Food? All about digestion by Stephanie Watson with Healthline.com. The exact time it takes for food to pass through the digestive tract

[00:02:15] depends on the amount and types of food. Factors such as sex, metabolism, and a range of digestive issues can also affect the speed of the digestive process. How Long It Takes to Digest Food? In general, food takes 24 to 72 hours to move through your digestive tract. The exact time

[00:02:34] depends on the amount and types of foods you've eaten. The rate is also based on factors like your gender, metabolism, and whether you have any digestive issues that could slow down or speed up the process. At first, food travels relatively quickly through your digestive system.

[00:02:51] Within 6 to 8 hours, the food has moved its way through your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Once in your large intestine, the partially digested contents of your meal can sit for more than a day while it's broken down even more. The normal range for transit time includes

[00:03:09] the following – gastric emptying 2 to 5 hours, small bowel transit 2 to 6 hours, colonic transit 10 to 59 hours, and whole gut transit 10 to 73 hours. Your digestion rate is also based on what you've eaten. Meat and fish can take as long as 2 days to fully digest. The proteins and fats they

[00:03:31] contain are complex molecules that take longer for your body to pull apart. By contrast, fruits and vegetables which are high in fiber can move through your system in less than a day. In fact, these high-fiber foods help your digestive tract run more efficiently in general.

[00:03:48] The quickest to digest are processed sugary junk foods like candy bars. Your body tears through them in a matter of hours, quickly leaving you hungry again. What happens during digestion? Digestion is the process by which your body breaks down food and pulls out the nutrients

[00:04:05] your body needs to operate. Anything left is a waste product which your body removes. Your digestive system is made up of 5 main parts – the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine. This is what happens when you digest food.

[00:04:24] As you chew, glands in your mouth release saliva. This digestive liquid contains enzymes that break down the starches in your food. The result is a mushy mass called a bolus that's easier to swallow. When you swallow, the food moves down your esophagus, the pipe that connects your mouth

[00:04:40] to your stomach. A muscular gate called the lower esophageal sphincter opens to let the food move into your stomach. Acids in your stomach break down the food even more. This produces a mushy mixture of gastric juices and partially digested food called chyme.

[00:04:56] This mixture moves on to your small intestine. In your small intestine, your pancreas and liver contribute their own digestive juices to the mix. Pancreatic juices break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Bile from your gallbladder

[00:05:10] dissolves fat. Vitamins, other nutrients, and water move through the walls of your small intestine into your bloodstream. The undigested part that remains moves on to your large intestine. The large intestine absorbs any remaining water and leftover nutrients from the food.

[00:05:27] The rest becomes solid waste called stool. Your rectum stores stool until you're ready to have a bowel movement. Possible digestive problems Certain conditions can disrupt digestion and leave you with some unpleasant side effects like heart

[00:05:41] burn, gas, constipation, or diarrhea. Here are a few. Acid reflux happens when the lower esophageal sphincter weakens. This allows acid to back up from your stomach into your esophagus. The main symptom is heartburn. Celiac disease involves your immune system attacking and

[00:05:59] damaging your intestines when you eat gluten. Constipation is fewer bowel movements than usual. When you do go, the stool is firm and hard to pass. Constipation causes symptoms like bloating and abdominal pain. Diverticulosis creates small pouches in your intestines. Diverticulosis itself

[00:06:19] doesn't cause symptoms, but if stool gets stuck in the pouches, inflammation and infection can occur. This occurrence is known as diverticulitis, and symptoms include abdominal pain, loose stools, and sometimes fever. Inflammatory bowel disease includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

[00:06:37] These conditions produce chronic inflammation in your intestines that can lead to ulcers, pain, bloody diarrhea, weight loss, malnutrition, and can increase one's risk of colon cancer. Irritable bowel syndrome causes uncomfortable symptoms such as gas, diarrhea, and constipation,

[00:06:54] but isn't tied to cancer or other serious digestive diseases. And, lactose intolerance means your body lacks the enzyme needed to break down the sugar in dairy products. When you eat dairy, you get symptoms like bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Tips for better digestion. To keep food moving

[00:07:14] smoothly through your digestive system and prevent issues like diarrhea and constipation, try these tips. 1. Eat more greens, fruit, and whole grains. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are all rich sources of fiber. Fiber helps food move through your digestive system more easily

[00:07:33] and completely. 2. Limit red meat and processed foods. Studies show red meat produces compounds that are linked to heart disease. 3. Add probiotics to your diet. These beneficial bacteria help crowd out the harmful bugs in your digestive tract. You'll find them in foods like yogurt and kefir

[00:07:54] and in supplements. 4. Exercise daily. Moving your body keeps your digestive tract moving too. Taking a walk after meals can prevent gas and bloating. Exercise also keeps your weight in check which lowers your risk for certain cancers and other diseases of the digestive system.

[00:08:12] 5. Get plenty of sleep. A lack of sleep is linked to obesity which can contribute to problems with your digestive system. And 6. Manage stress. Excess stress can worsen digestive conditions like heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome. Stress-relieving techniques such as meditation

[00:08:31] and yoga can help calm your mind. The takeaway. You might not think much about your digestive system on a daily basis, yet you'll know when it's not working optimally by uncomfortable symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Watch what you eat and stay active to keep your digestive

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[00:10:44] This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Dr. Neal here for my commentary. I want to go back to the third tip today's author, Stephanie, shared. When talking about how to improve digestion, Stephanie mentioned that

[00:10:58] we can add probiotics to our diets. A natural way to do this would be to eat foods that already contain probiotics like yogurt or kefir. Stephanie also mentioned that we can supplement with probiotics. If you do choose to supplement with probiotics, there are some things to pay attention

[00:11:15] to. First, check with your doctor to make sure it's a good idea for you to take probiotics. This is because they're not recommended for everyone. Next, if your doctor does agree that you can and should be taking probiotics, most studies suggest that getting doses of 1 billion

[00:11:31] live probiotic cultures may be what's required in order to see any beneficial effects. So that means we have to look at the supplement label to see if it in fact provides that many live probiotic cultures. Lastly, once you do find a product with at least 1 billion live

[00:11:49] probiotic cultures, we need to make sure it's been tested for quality and purity. You can do this by looking at the product's packaging and see if it has one or both of these abbreviations, USP or

[00:12:00] NSF, or you could check consumerlab.com or labdoor.com to see if the product was tested by these independent third parties. If you've checked all of these boxes, then you should be

[00:12:13] good to go. Alright, that'll do it for today. Don't forget I'll be back here tomorrow for our usual Friday Q&A, so definitely stay tuned for that where your optimal life awaits!