From Digestion to Absorption to Metabolism
From Digestion to Absorption
Once your food has been digested and broken down into smaller particles, it goes to the next stage: absorption. This process is dependent upon the health of the small intestinal lining. A healthy digestive tract has a semi-permeable lining that lets properly digested nutrients through and keeps bad things (toxins, undigested food, etc.) out. An unhealthy digestive tract becomes very porous, letting undigested food, bacteria and toxins into the blood.
From Absorption to Metabolism
Now that the nutrients have been absorbed through the intestinal lining, they can be transported by the blood to the cells throughout the body. It is within the cells that metabolism happens. The cellular metabolism creates energy in the form of ATP to be used for the specialized function of that cell. This all adds up to the many complex functions of the body.