The digestive system is a network of organs that help the body break down and absorb food. It is responsible for converting the foods we eat into their simplest forms, such as glucose, amino acids, or fatty acids, which can be absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to each cell in the body. The digestive system consists of the digestive tract and other organs that help with digestion. The digestive tract is a long, twisting tube that starts at the mouth and goes through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The organs that help with digestion include the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.

The process of digestion has three stages: the cephalic phase, the gastric phase, and the intestinal phase. Each organ of the digestive system has an important role in digestion. For example, the mouth grinds up food with teeth and moistens it with saliva to make it easy to swallow. Saliva also has a special chemical, called an enzyme, which starts breaking down carbohydrates into sugars. The stomach wall produces gastric juice that digests proteins. The small intestine is where most of the digestion of food takes place, and the large intestine is where water is removed and waste is stored before being passed out of the body through the anus.

The digestive system is important because the body needs nutrients from food and drink to work properly and stay healthy. Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water are nutrients that the body needs. The digestive system breaks down and absorbs nutrients from the food and liquids we consume to use for important things like energy, growth, and repairing cells.