What Is A Small Intestine?

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The main job of the small intestine is to break down digested material (assimilation) with the use of chemicals in order to break down large molecules of food into little molecules and to absorb most of the nutrients from everything we eat or drink through the intestine walls via the process of diffusion. As written in IvyRose Holistic website, “Digested material may be transported into blood vessels in the wall of the small intestine by the processes of simple/passive diffusion, facilitated diffusion, primary active transport, or secondary active transport.” (2016, para. 12). So digestion means the process where food and drink are broken down into very small pieces in order for the body to be able to use them sustain cells and for energy. …show more content…
It is lined with simple columnar epithelial tissue and have many circular folds called plicaie circulares projecting into the lumen of the bowel. Tiny finger-like projections found in the individual epithelial cells called microvilli are attached to a collection of epithelial cells lining the intestinal wall called villi. Together, these three structures (plicaie circulares, villi and microvilli) enlarge the amount of surface area that will be available for the absorption of nutrients. (IvyRoseHolistic, …show more content…
The duodenum receives digestive (enzymatic) juices from the pancreas that will help break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in our food and that will help to neutralize acid from the food in the stomach until digested food particles are ready for absorption. Bile from the gall bladder reach the intestine and will mix with fat in our food in order to dissolve the fat into a liquid form of intestine so that enzymes from the pancreas can digest it.
The following are types of nutrients and how it’s absorbed
Carbohydrates (breads, potatoes, pastry, candy, rice, pasta): Sugar and starch molecules are broken down into disaccharides called sucrose, lactose and maltose to the end-product of glucose, fructose and galactose and are absorbed mostly by active transport. The end products of fatty acids and monglycerides happens when pancreatic enzyme (lipase) found in pancreas and small intestine plus bile from the liver break down lipids they are then absorbed through villi cells as triglycerides. (Truesdell, 2016).
Protein (meat, eggs, beans): Once digested by enzymes, they are able to build and repair body tissues. Several enzymes from the pancreatic juice and lining of the intestine completes the breakdown of large protein molecules into smaller ones called amino acids. Once the molecules are absorbed into

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