What is digestion?

Digestion is how your body turns food into energy and nutrients you can use.

Imagine you have a big, messy puzzle, and you need to put it together piece by piece, that’s kind of what digestion does! When you eat something like a sandwich, your mouth starts the job. Your teeth chew it up, like tearing open a package, and your tongue helps mix it around. Then your saliva (the wet stuff in your mouth) starts breaking down the food, just like water softens paper.

After you swallow, the food goes down your throat and into your stomach, kind of like sliding from one room to another in a house. Your stomach uses strong juices to keep mixing and breaking everything up, like a blender on full power.

Finally, the food moves into your intestines, where it gets absorbed by your body, like sponges soaking up water. That’s how your body gets all the good stuff from your meals, so you can play, run, and laugh!