What happens to food after I swallow it?
The Toast Factory
What happens to food after I swallow it?
You take a bite of toast, chew it into mush, and swallow. Down it goes — and then... what? It turns out your insides are running a long, busy factory whose only job is to take that toast apart and keep the useful bits. Let's follow the crumbs.
The trip starts before you even swallow. Your teeth crush the food, and your spit (called saliva) does something sneaky: it carries chemicals that begin breaking the food down, like a tiny cleaning crew dissolving the mess. By the time you swallow, your meal is already softened up.
