How does the digestive system work?
There are four progressive stages to this process:
Mouth
When food enters the mouth the teeth begin the digestive process by ripping and grinding solid food in to smaller pieces. The saliva in the mouth begins to break down carbohydrates such as starch.
Stomach
After the more sizeable chewed food has been swallowed. The esophagus (the tube leading to the stomach) squeezes the partly digested food in to the stomach. In the stomach the glands secrete hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. These digestive juices break down the proteins, sugars and fats in the food.
Small Intestine
The partly digested food is then squeezed from the stomach into the small intestine. Here bile from the liver begins to emulsify fat and digestive juices from the pancreas continue to digest nutrients.
Colon
By the time the food leaves the small intestine, most of the nutrients will already have been absorbed. Next, the resulting lump of mostly digested food moves slowly through the colon. This is the last stage of absorption, leaving only a mass of fibre and bacteria. As this mass of waste can’t be used by the body it is lastly excreted through the anus.
How do chia seeds help the digestive system?
Chia seeds contain high amounts of both soluble and insoluble fibre. Fibre works by both bulking up the stool and retaining water this therefore helps by cleaning out the digestive tract by eliminating junk build up from the intestines. It can also help you get rid of toxins in the digestive tract.
Fibre can be beneficial for both diarrhea and constipation however it is important that plenty of fluids are taken when consuming Chia as the high fibre can cause constipation if you are dehydrated.
