Digestion

See how it works

Food goes on a long journey inside your body. Tap a part and see where it goes!

👆 Tap it to take it apart

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📖 Read along: every part in words

For grown-ups to read aloud. Tap the picture above and Pipi reads it too.

Food goes on a long journey inside your body. Tap a part and see where it goes!

Mouth: The mouth is the first stop on the journey. Your teeth bite the food into small bits, and your tongue rolls it up so you can swallow.
Teeth: Teeth are white and hard. They bite the food into small pieces, and then it is easy to swallow.
Tongue: The tongue is soft, and it keeps moving. It mixes the food and rolls it into a little ball to help you swallow.
Food tube: Swallowed food slides down this tube. It works like a slide, taking the food all the way to the stomach.
Stomach: The stomach is a soft bag, and it squeezes and lets go. It works the food softer and softer until it turns into a smooth mush.
Small tube: The small tube is thin and very long, and it loops round and round. It picks out the best bits of the food and hands them to your body.
Big tube: The big tube is wider than the small one, and it curves around like a frame. It takes back the water, and what is left turns into poop.

A small piece of food is in your mouth. Your teeth bite it into bits, and your tongue rolls it into a ball.
You swallow the ball of food, and it slides down the food tube. It goes down like a slide, and the stomach is close now.
The food settles into the stomach and stays there quietly. Your mouth and your food tube are empty, and that feels easy and light.

The stomach starts to squeeze and let go, gently. It works the food softer and softer, and it is in no hurry at all.
Now you can see inside the stomach. The food has turned into a soft mush, and it turns slowly round and round.
The mush moves on into the small tube and travels along the winding loop. Your body uses it up little by little.

The small tube works like a little sieve. It picks out the best bits of the food, and they go into your body and travel all over.
Those bits become energy for running and jumping, and material for growing taller. That is how your body uses up the food you eat.