Food travels through a tube from the mouth to the stomach and intestines. Digestion breaks food into smaller parts. Absorption is different: small nutrients cross the small-intestine wall into the body. The gut tube and the blood route are separate. Blood can then carry absorbed nutrients toward body cells. Follow food through the tube, then switch to a nutrient leaving the small intestine.
The human body · Discover & try
How does food become nutrients the body can use?
Reading level 2 of 5 · DevelopingChange
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Digestion
Breaking food into smaller components.
Absorption
Movement of substances across the intestinal lining.
Watch · Try · Explain
See how it works
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Selected food and nutrient routes, not a complete digestive diagram. Many fat products initially enter lymph, which is omitted from this simplified blood route.
What to look for
- Food passes through mouth, food pipe, stomach and intestines.
- A small nutrient crosses the intestinal wall into a separate blood route.
Explain what you noticed
A small sugar molecule has crossed the small-intestinal lining into blood. What can happen next?
Keep this idea: Digestion breaks food down; absorption transfers useful products across the gut lining.
Follow the sources
- NIH NIDDK — Your Digestive System and How It Works
- NIH National Cancer Institute — Introduction to the Digestive System
Source material checked 2026-10-29. Explanations and activities by Nepedia. Source links do not imply endorsement.
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