Question 1

How long does it take for food to pass through the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

without any prior surgeries or GI diseases, about 60 90 minutes from the mouth thru the small intestine to reach the colon and then another 24-36 hours thru the colon or large intestine to the anus. Of course food that cause diarrhea or constipation can change this in either direction

Question 2

What could cause food to pass through the digestive system in 3-4hours usually with a greenish or yellow/orange color looking partly undigested?

Accepted Answer

First define the problem (do you have soft or frequent stool?),  circumstances under which diarrhea developed (malabsorption,  pancreatic maldigestion, food intolerances, stressful times, exposure to ill individuals, food poisoning, ischemic gut, inflammatory colitis, etc.), severity (stool volume, dehydration, blood, night-time awakening, weight loss), ; duration. The "cure" depends on diagnosis.

Question 3

How long does it take for food to go through the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

Amount of time between eating food and processing entirely to defecation varies between people a lot. It takes 6-8 hours for food to through stomach and small intestine.  From there it goes to large intestine for more digestion, absorption of water, and then elimination of waste.  Studies have shown between 33 - 53 hours total.  Kids might be faster than adults -- and medications can affect it too.

Question 4

What are the parts of the digestive system tbrough which food passes?

Accepted Answer

The GI system start with the mouth and teeth. This is where digestion begins. The food is the swallowed and taken to the stomach via the esophagus. In the stomach food is exposed to acid and mechanical grinding. Food then passes into the duodenum, jejunum and ileum where nutrients are absorbed. The liquid then enters the colon where water is absorbed and then out through the anus.

Question 5

How does food flow through the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

Rhythmic wavelike squeezing and relaxiation from the mouth to the anus

Question 6

Can you tell me how the food travel through the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

chew in mouth, stomach mixes and meters out into duodenum and then into small intestine for absorption.  The residual makes it into the right part of the colon within an hour or less in most people.  then over the next 1-4 days it slowly moves toward the rectum where it is slowly dehydrated (no digestion takes place in the colon, except bacterial degradation), eventually expelled

Question 7

What is the slow, wavelike contraction that moves food through the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

Peristaltic movements move the food in process throughout intestine. They are a normal phenomenon with certain characteristics.

Question 8

Normally, how long would the digestive system take to empty the food in it {incl. intestines}?

Accepted Answer

Transit time through the small intestine is anywhere from 45 minute to 90 minutes; then transit time through the colon normally is 24-36 hours. This will vary from patient to patient and relative to diet and other conditions such as prior abdominal surgery, fluid intake, stress, meds and hydration status.

Question 9

I ate several pieces of summer sausage, unaware the wrapper should be removed. i had never had it before and feel silly making such a mistake.  will it simply pass through my digestive system? does that dx change depending on the casing type?

Accepted Answer

Expect resolution in a day so.  Even objects like pins usually pass through gi tract without incident.

Question 10

If you eat something, does the material have to pass through your digestive system before entering your bloodstream?

Accepted Answer

That's exactly how it works, in a very simplistic way.  It is a complicated process, but that is just how we get nutrients from foods and fluid into our blood stream where those nutrients can be delivered to cells in need.

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How long does it take for food to pass through the digestive system