Digestion, Absorption, and Metabolism: How our Bodies Use God’s Gift of Food

God’s Grand Design: The Miracle of Food and the Human Body

God not only gives us the gift of food, but also gives us beautifully complex and miraculous bodies. The ways our bodies protect us and use fuel from the gifts all around us (food) is truly mind-blowing. If you want to see a miracle just look at the complexity of the human body, and how the body uses food! I don’t want to just tell you though; I want to show you. So for this blog, I am going to walk you through a simplified explanation of what happens to your food from the time it enters your mouth all the way to how it is used in your cells. Hopefully, this basic walk-through will demonstrate how truly wonderful the human body is, and how food and the human body work together…

Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN is a registered dietitian and owner of Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC. Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition.
Ngo is nationally known as one of the top experts in faith-based mindfulness and nutrition and also the author of several books including, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals, and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.

This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)

Food and the Human Body: Digestion, Absorption, and Metabolism; How our Bodies use God’s Gift of Food; Written by registered dietitian, Lacy, Ngo, MS, RDN

Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN is a registered dietitian and author of Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition and The Nourishing Meal Builder.

The Nourishing Meal Builder beautifully combines faith-based mindfulness and nutrition science to help you live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life. You can find out more about this refreshing book here.

Faith, Mindfulness, and Nutrition takes you on an inspiring and uplifting journey with dietitian, Lacy Ngo. Thanks to faith-based mindfulness and nutrition, Ngo went from being weight obsessed to feeling healthy and happy in her own body.

Digestion, Absorption, and Metabolism

As we go through the digestion, absorption, and metabolism processes, I will provide nutrition notes in pink to show places in the processes that affect your health.

Digestion and Absorption Basics

The digestive system provides two main functions: digestion and absorption. Digestion is the process of breaking food into components small enough to be absorbed. Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugar, proteins are broken down into amino acids, and fats are broken down into fatty acids. Absorption is the process of taking substances into the interior of the body. The digestive system includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, and anus. The whole digestive tract is made up of the lumen (the interior wall). The mucosa is a protective layer of tissue responsible for absorption. The transit time is the time it takes food to pass from the mouth to the anus. The transit time for healthy adults is about 24 to 72 hours. This transit time is effected by diet, physical activity, emotions, medications, and illness.

The Digestion, Absorption, Metabolism Processes

Developed by Registered Dietitian, Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN

After going through the digestion, absorption, and metabolic processes, hopefully you have noticed two things:

1. Our bodies are amazing and can take on and fight off a lot of environmental factors. Our bodies are complex masterpieces. I am blown away when I think about what God can do!

2. Although our bodies can protect us from so much, what we put into our bodies can greatly affect our mind, body, and spirit. Again, God is amazing. I am so thankful for all of these foods and resources God put on the earth that give us the ability help our bodies’ function.

What Foods Should I Eat to Help My Mind, Body, and Spirit Function and Thrive?

Thank you, God, for the gift of food!

Food provides us joy, nourishment, and energy. Food has so many life-sustaining benefits. But which foods do what? And can I find this list of foods in one spot?
Here are a few more questions you may be pondering:
What foods are anti-inflammatory?
Are there foods that boost the immune system?
What foods help with mood, depression, anxiety, and brain function?
Can certain foods boost memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia?
What foods reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes?
What foods help with bloating, stomach distention, constipation, GERD, cramps, diarrhea or other stomach problems?
Can certain foods reduce joint pain, arthritis pain, headaches, and migraines?
Are there foods that can help with autoimmune diseases?

The answer is yes; certain foods can reduce the risk or alleviate symptoms of these conditions!

Certain foods, when eaten too often, can also increase the risk of these conditions or exasperate symptoms.
The upcoming book is going to go into MUCH more detail by providing food lists, recipes, and discussions of the research, BUT while you wait, I have made a simple, easy Meal Plan Checklist that all subscribers can print and start using now! You can get the Meal Plan Checklist here!

Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN is a registered dietitian and author of The Nourishing Meal Builder. The Nourishing Meal Builder beautifully combines faith-based mindfulness and nutrition science to help you live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life. You can find out more about this refreshing book here.