Let’s start at the top!
Each part of the digestive system plays a role in our digestion AND the absorption of nutrients.
- Esophagus
- Stomach – water, ethyl alcohol, iodide, fluoride, molybdenum
- Duodenum – calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper, selenium, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, folate, vitamins A, D, E and K
- Jejunum – this has 2 parts but let’s just lump them in together shall we? – thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenate, biotin, folate, B6, vitamin C, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, manganese, vitamins A, D, E, and K, lipids, monosaccharides, amino acids, small peptides
- Large intestine – multiple sections here too! water, vitamin K, biotin, sodium, chloride,potassium, short chain fatty acids
- Ileum – (you guessed it…multiple sections here also) bile salts and acids, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin K and magnesium
It was a challenge to get those arrows to line up but the general idea is there. We have multiple parts in the large intestine and other areas that absorb a variety of nutrients – we are this fine tuned machine when we are working right.
