10 Fun Facts About Your Digestive System

1. Digestion Is Important for Your Health

Have you ever wondered what the digestive system does? While you know that food is important for sustenance, you may not know that digestion is the process that turns food into energy and available nutrients. Digestion is especially important for nutrient absorption, energy, and cell repair.¹

2. Your Stomach Doesn't Play the Biggest Role in Absorption of Nutrients

The stomach begins the digestion process by churning food and breaking it down using digestive acids.¹ This is referred to as mechanical digestion.³ But the actual absorption of that food takes place mainly in the small intestine.¹ Similar to the stomach, there are digestive juices in the small intestine to help further break down food, making it easier for nutrients to be absorbed and used by the body.¹

3. You Can Eat Upside Down.

Another interesting fact about the digestive system is that you can eat upside down.⁴ Food doesn't need gravity to reach your stomach.⁴ When you eat something, the muscles in your esophagus constrict and relax in a wavelike manner, which is called peristalsis and pushes food along the esophagus and into the stomach.⁴ It's difficult to eat upside down, but it's possible.

4. The Large Intestine Is Responsible for More Than Eliminating Waste

The large intestine turns liquid waste into solid stool. The large intestine is also responsible for absorbing the remaining nutrients and water the body needs.¹ Waste products include undigested parts of food and older cells from the GI tract.¹

5. The Stomach Must Protect Itself From Acid

Your stomach's digestive juice—called hydrochloric acid—breaks down food and bacteria.⁵ The stomach protects itself from hydrochloric acid with a thick layer of mucus.⁵ Without that layer, the acid would attack the walls of your stomach.⁵

6. The Small Intestine Has a Surprisingly Large Surface Area

The small intestine of the average adult is around 22 feet long.² The small intestine has a much larger surface area than you would expect because of its many folds and finger-like projections, called villi.⁶ This large surface area is important because the small intestine is better built to absorb nutrients from food—which is vital to your health.⁶

7. Stomach Growling Can Happen When You're Not Hungry

Here’s another fun fact about the digestive system: Stomach rumbling is the sound of your gas and fluids moving through the digestive system.⁷. Your stomach contracts to move food and liquid through the digestive system.⁷. When that happens, you may feel and even hear that rumbling sound.⁷ That sound tells you that digestion is happening, but it may not necessarily mean you are hungry.⁷

8. Your Colon Reabsorbs Water From Food

You get some water from food. Your colon is a vital part of your digestive health and takes water from food to turn it into stool.⁸

9. You Feed Your Healthy Gut Bacteria

The healthy bacteria in your digestive system need nutrients just like you do. Soluble fiber nourishes healthy gut bacteria.⁹ Many foods have soluble fiber like beans, citrus fruits, oats, apples and peas.⁹ Also, a fiber supplement like Benefiber can provide soluble fiber—which nourishes good gut bacteria.

10. Fiber Is Important for Digestion

Fiber is important to help food move through the digestive tract and certain types of fiber can help you maintain regularity.⁹ Soluble fiber provides nutrients to healthy gut bacteria that play an important role in good digestive health.⁹

Now that you’ve learned some interesting facts about the digestive system, explore Benefiber products that can help you add fiber to your diet.