Digestive System

Obtaining nutrients
Nutrition
 Energy

• Body cells need energy to run cell

processes.
• Animals obtain chemical energy from
food. Energy is derived from breaking
chemical bonds.
• Food energy is measured in units called
calories.
 Food labeling
• A typical label for
packaged food lists
calories and major
nutrients.

• While the
information is
incomplete, it does
help people make
some important
choices.
 Lipids
Many lipids are made up
• Lipids are fats, oils, and of fatty acids and
glycerine.
waxes.

• Lipids are energy

dense, containing 9
calories per gram.

• Lipids are used for

storing energy, making
cell membranes, and
synthesizing steroid
hormones.
 Carbohydrates
Starch is made up of glucose.
• Sugars and starch are
the carbohydrates that
humans can digest.
“Fiber” is indigestible
carbohydrates, such as
cellulose and inulin.

• Glucose is needed by all

body cells as energy.
Nerve cells must have
glucose to operate.
 W
O
R
• Sometimes my students describe sugars K
or starch as “fatty,” or tell me that sugar
has lots of fat in it. Look at the diagrams T
of starch, sugar, and fat in your notes. O
G
Are they right or not?
E
T
H
E
R
 Proteins
Proteins are made up of
• Amino acids from amino acids.
digested proteins are
used by cells to build all
the proteins that our
body needs.

• Humans need a balance

of the 20 amino acids,
which can be obtained
from animal proteins, or
by blending plant
protein sources.
 W
O
• Since there are 20 different amino acids, R
and hundreds or thousands of amino K
acids in a single protein, there are
billions of possible combinations and T
therefore many, many different, O
distinctive proteins. We’ve learned about G
E
some already. Name some proteins
T
we’ve learned about. (Hint: “Meat” is a
H
source, not a protein.) E
R
Macromolecule summary
Polymers Monomers Roles

Complex
Glucose and other Broken apart to get energy to
Carbohydrates
simple sugars make ATP.
(i.e. starch)

Used to make our own

Proteins Amino acids enzymes and other body
proteins.
Used for cellular energy and
Lipids (Fats, Fatty acid chains,
energy storage; used to make
waxes, oils, and glycerine (except
cell membranes, steroid
steroids) steroids)
hormones.
 Minerals

• Sodium, potassium,
zinc, iron, calcium,
copper, and selenium
are among the minerals
that humans need.

• Most minerals can be

found in whole grains,
fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and meats. Highly
processed foods may
be deficient.
 Major Minerals
Mineral Major roles Natural sources

Calcium Bone and tooth formation; muscle Dairy products, leafy greens, dry
and nerve function. beans.
Iron Used to make hemoglobin and Red meats, eggs, nuts, whole grains,
myoglobin. leafy greens.
Zinc Component of certain enzymes, Meats, whole grains, nuts, legumes.
required for growth.
Phosphorous Bone and tooth formation; pH of Dairy products, grains.
body fluids, phospholipids.
Potassium Maintains pH of body fluids; used in Many fruits and vegetables, meats,
action potentials. milk.
Sodium Maintains pH of body fluids; used in Table salt, meats.
action potentials.
Selenium Used by the immune system. Nuts, esp. Brazil nuts; many fruits
and vegetables.
 Vitamins

• Vitamins play many

different roles in
metabolism.

• We do not obtain
energy from vitamins;
however, some
vitamins are necessary
to run energy-related
processes in cells.
 Major Vitamins
Vitamins Major roles Natural sources

Vitamin A (fat Used to make visual pigments; Orange and yellow fruits and
soluble maintains epithelial tissues; needed vegetables, egg yolk, dairy
for normal growth. products.
B complex vitamins Used in cellular respiration to Whole grains, legumes, many
(water soluble) metabolize sugars and other carbon fruits and vegetables. B12 comes
compounds. from animal sources.

Vitamin C (water Used in collagen synthesis, possible Fresh fruits and vegetables.
soluble) role in immune function.

Vitamin D (fat Bone growth, calcium absorption, Eggs, dairy products. Sunlight on
soluble) possible role in immune function. skin oils creates Vitamin D.

Vitamin E (fat Antioxidant, reduces cellular Nuts, whole grains, leafy

soluble) damage. vegetables.

Vitamin K Plays a role in blood clotting. Produced by intestinal bacteria.

 Antioxidants
Moral of the story: eat
• Free-radicals are colorful food
released by cell
damage and many cell
processes.

• Anti-oxidants, such as
Vitamins C and E, and
many plant pigments,
combine with free
radicals and reduce
their effects, which
slows cell aging. No, Skittles don’t count as
“colorful food!”
 The monomers of
proteins:

1. Simple sugars
2. Lipids
3. Amino acids
4. Depends on the
protein
Humans obtain energy
from:
1. Carbohydrates
2. Vitamins
3. Minerals
4. Antioxidants
5. All of these
 Mom says carrots make you see
better. Any reason why this might be
true?
1. No, but they do
contain antioxidants.
2. Yes. Beta carotenes
in carrots are
converted to Vitamin
A.
3. No, it’s just an old
folk belief.
 Which nutrients are “anti-aging”
because they prevent free-radical
damage?

1. Lipids
2. Minerals
3. Antioxidants
4. B-vitamins
 Which vitamin can you
overdose on?

1. B vitamins
2. Vitamin C
3. Vitamin A
4. None – you can’t
overdose on
vitamins.
 W
O
R
K
• Trick question: what ingredient in
“energy drinks” actually gives you T
energy? O
G
• What would be incorrect about a label E
that said, “calorie-free energy drink”? T
H
E
R
Digestion
 Two-way digestion
• Simple animals have a
single digestive pouch
with a single opening.

• Food enters through

the opening, waste
leaves through the
same opening.

• These organisms must

finish digesting before
eating again.
 One-way digestion
• More complex animals
have one-way digestion.

• Food enters one

opening and waste
leaves from another.

• Animals with one-way

systems can eat any
time, which is an
advantage.
 Mechanical digestion
• In humans, mechanical
digestion takes place in the
mouth.

• Human incisors and

canines are adapted for
tearing food, while molars
are adapted for grinding
food.

• Saliva, which contains

enzymes, mixes with food.
 Stomach
• Acid digestion occurs in
the stomach.

• Gastrin, a hormone,
stimulates acid release.

• Pepsin, an enzyme that

breaks up proteins,
requires an acidic
environment to become
active.
 Stomach problems
• Stomach ulcers cause
pain when the stomach
is empty. These are
bacterial infections that
create ulcerations.

• Acid reflux is often due

to weakness in the
sphincter muscle at the
top of the stomach.
 Duodenum

• Alkaline digestion takes

place in the upper small
intestine, the duodenum.

• Enzymes from the

pancreas require an
alkaline environment to
be active.
 Pancreas and Liver
• Pancreas releases
pancreatic juice,
containing bicarbonate,
lipases, proteases, and
amylase.

• The liver makes bile,

which emulsifies fats.
Bile is made from
cholesterol, which is
made in the liver.
 Small intestine
• The walls of the small
intestine are lined with
millions of microvilli.
This is the site of
nutrient absorption.

• Small intestines also

produce many digestive
enzymes to break large
polymers completely
down into monomers.
Villi and microvilli
 Digestion and pH
Location pH Enzymes Molecules digested

Mouth neutral Amylase Starch

Stomach acidic Pepsin (a peptidase) Initial protein

digestion
Small intestine Basic to neutral Mixture of amylase, Digestion of
peptidases, lipases starches, final
breakdown of
proteins, digestion of
lipids.
 Large intestine
• Water from digested food
is absorbed in the large
intestine.

• Bacteria present in the

large intestine feed on
unabsorbed nutrients, and
produce several vitamins.

• Fecal material is formed

from fiber and other
undigested material.
Most digestion occurs in:

1. The mouth
2. The stomach
3. The small intestines
4. The large intestines
Digestion of starches begins in
the:

1. Mouth
2. Stomach
3. Small intestine
4. Large intestine
 Why do we have
microvilli?
1. To protect the
intestinal lining.
2. To vastly increase
the intestine’s
surface area.
3. To block acids
coming from the
stomach.
 Does a colon need
cleaned?
• Products like these raise
worry in people who
believe their colon is
“dirty.” These are laxatives
that are unnecessary, or
even harmful.

• “Cleansing” products can

disrupt bowel function
and do not cure any real
illnesses. A diet high in
fiber is a healthier option.
Hormones and digestion
• Many hormones produced by the digestive system
itself are responsible for appetite and digestion.
• Gastrin in the stomach, produced when food is present,
signals release of acid.
• Secretin signals the release of sodium bicarbonate by
the pancreas.
• Ghrelin and Leptin, recently discovered, control
appetite. Changes in these hormones cause overeating,
because people with too little of these hormones don’t
realize they’re full.
 Hormones

• NOVA Science Now video: Hormones and Obesit

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