- Have you ever wondered how your body is able
to process the food you eat?
Believe it or not, the digestive system is highly complex
with a lot of working parts.
Of course, without it, there's no way
for you to receive energy or survive.
However, it also clears waste and filters out toxins.
It's an indispensable part of your body,
so why not learn more about it?
I'm Mike with List 25, and here are 25 fun facts
about the human digestive system you probably didn't know.
(upbeat music)
- 25.
- Food takes about seven seconds
to travel down the esophagus.
- 24.
- The small intestine is 22 feet long,
while the large intestine is only six feet.
- 23.
- The entire digestive system, from the mouth
to the anus is 30 feet long.
- 22.
- Your stomach uses hydrochloric acid
to break down food and produces a mucus
to protect itself from it.
- 21.
- The small intestine has three parts:
the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
- 20.
- An adult stomach can hold about 1 1/2 liters of material.
- 19.
- Contrary to popular belief, the small intestine
is where most of the digestion takes place, not the stomach.
- 18.
- Your stomach growling is called borborygmi.
And it's actually your intestines full of hot air.
Note to Tristan, maybe add a tummy growling sound effect.
- [Tristan] Rowr!
- Not that one, Jesus, not that one.
- 17.
- Our salivary glands produce one
to two liters of saliva a day.
- 16.
- Your gut and brain have a special connection.
Emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness can change
how you digest food.
- 15.
- Enzymes in your stomach aid in breaking food down
into proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
- 14.
- Peptic ulcers are not caused by stress or diet,
but by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori.
- 13.
- The average American adult eats roughly 2,000 pounds
of food a year.
- 12.
- Belching is the result of sucking in excess air
while drinking a carbonated beverage,
chewing gum, or smoking.
Or, I guess, just doing it on command.
- 11.
- The colon has four major parts
and is responsible for getting rid of food
after the nutrients are removed.
- 10.
- The esophagus moves food down to the stomach
using muscles in a process called peristalsis.
- 9.
- The liver is the largest internal organ
and has over 500 different functions,
including fighting off infection and neutralizing toxins.
- Eight.
- The human digestive system doesn't rely on gravity,
since food is moved through using muscles.
This means you could be standing on your head
and your digestive system would keep working,
however, I can't promise that doing a headstand
right after eating would be entirely comfortable.
- Seven.
- In 1822, a fur trapper suffered a horrible gunshot wound
in the stomach, after several surgeries, he survived
but they had to keep the hole, providing a window
for doctors to watch digestion in real time.
- Six.
- Flatulence is, essentially, swallowed air
and gas produced by bacteria in your intestines.
- Five.
- The human gut is home to a complex ecosystem
of roughly 300 to 500 bacteria.
- Four.
- The entire intestinal tract is sterile at birth
and is populated by environmental factors
during and after birth.
- Three.
- To prevent food and liquid from entering your lungs,
the epiglottis covers the entrance to the larynx.
- Two.
- The gallbladder stores the bile used
to break down dietary fat.
- One.
- The digestive system is the site of more cancers
and cancer mortality than any other in the body.
(upbeat music)
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