Where does digestion begin and end?

Digestion begins in the mouth. When you chew your food it gets mixed with saliva, which not only begins the process of breaking down the food, but also helps it move smoothly through your digestive system.

An enzyme in saliva called amylase starts to break down carbohydrates into simpler sugars. This process continues in the stomach where food is mixed with stomach acid to break down large protein molecules into smaller ones.

The partially digested food then moves into the small intestine. Here, it is broken down further by enzymes produced by the liver and pancreas. Nutrients from the food are absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream.

Finally, the undigested food moves into the large intestine. Here, water and electrolytes are absorbed and the remaining waste material is stored as feces before being eliminated through the rectum and anus. So, the digestion process ends at the anus.