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How long does it take your stomach to process food?



Box of Frogs

Zamoras Left Boot
Oct 8, 2003
4,751
Right here, right now
After dropping off the kids at the beach earlier this evening before dinner (as usual), almost immediately after having scoffed dinner I urgently required a further bowel evacuation.

Could my stomach process the recently consumed food that quickly?!?

I had spicy chilli wraps with sour creme for dinner by the way.

Discuss!
 


seagulls4ever

New member
Oct 2, 2003
4,338
No, but eating food triggers a response from the body to empty the bowels if necessary. This is also true after waking up from a sleep.
 


Kumquat

New member
Mar 2, 2009
4,459
Mine wants to evacuate quite soon after eating but it usually turns out to be the meal before the one i've just had. I can just tell by the overall smell and colour. And the heat.
 








Kumquat

New member
Mar 2, 2009
4,459
I often use the term "dropping the kids off at the beach" as a euphemism for having a shit too.
 


Shropshire Seagull

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2004
8,477
Telford
Not sure about full digestion of foods, but as a diabetic, I'm aware of GI [glycemic index] of foods. This is the speed at which the carbohydrate element is released / extracted in to the blood stream. Some are quick burst, other are trickle feed.

I'm also sure I heard somewhere that it takes 48 hours to fully digest a banana such is it content.

So the only answer to you question can be "various"
 








grubbyhands

Well-known member
Dec 8, 2011
2,283
Godalming
I often use the term "dropping the kids off at the beach" as a euphemism for having a shit too.

Isn't it "dropping the kids off at the pool?" or is that just an alternative expression?
 


clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
Union of Uranus asks just that question!!

Dear Alice,
Some friends and I were debating how long it takes for food to digest within our bodies, and then the total time it stays until it is excreted. Please settle this issue for us.

Union of Uranus

Dear Union of Uranus,

From the way you signed your letter, your question is most likely related to the discharge of food from the colon and "your anus." In order to cover the ins and outs of the process (no puns intended) it’s best to start from the very beginning:

The eater spots a delicious-looking bite to eat (amount of time depends how picky of an eater we’re dealing with).
Food is chewed, lubricated, and partially digested by saliva in the mouth, and then the tongue moves it to the back of the throat. This process takes about one minute to complete.

Chewed and partially digested food is travels through the pharynx and into the esophagus, where it takes about ten seconds to be propeled into the stomach.
The stomach is a hollow, elastic sac where food is churned and mixed thoroughly with digestive juices secreted by the stomach lining. This process takes about two to four hours to complete, depending on the type of food and the amount of food eaten.

Processed food is then released gradually into the small intestine. In the small intestine, digestive juices produced in the liver and pancreas convert carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into chemical mixtures used by the body. The broken down mixtures then pass through the wall of the small intestine into the bloodstream or lymph system if it is fat. This process takes around three to ten hours to complete.

Water and undigested food are then passed into the large intestine, where the water can be absorbed. It takes between seven to sixteen hours for this process to be completed.
The solid waste from the large intestine is then stored in the rectum for a variable period of time (between twelve and fourteen hours). The muscles then push the solid waste out of the anus as feces.

So, as you can see, there is a range of time, usually between 24 and 44 hours. Exactly how long it takes is up to the individual’s digestive system, not to mention what s/he eats. For example, eating fiber-rich foods helps speed up digestion, while eating animal proteins, like meat, poultry and seafood can slow it down.

Bon apetit!

Alice
 









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