What happens in the large intestine? The large intestine is not designed for enhancing absorption but is particularly specialized to conserve the sodium and water that escape absorption in the small intestine, although it only transports about one liter of fluid per day. The large intestine is about five feet long, including its final segments, the colon and the rectum. It is interesting, given that most digestion and absorption occurs prior to the large intestine, that food, which at this point is primarily fiber, will spend more time in your large intestine than anywhere else during digestion. On average, food travels through the stomach in 1/2 to two hours, continues through the small intestine over the next two to six hours, and spends six to 72 hours in your large intestine before final removal by defecation. One reason food stays longer in the large intestine may be that the large intestine is capable of generating nutrients from food. The food that makes it into the large intestine is primarily fiber, and the large intestine contains an ecosystem of bacteria that can ferment much of this fiber, producing many nutrients necessary for the health of the colon cells. Colonic fermentation also produces a series of short-chain fatty acids, including proprionate, acetate, and butyrate, which are required for healthy colonic cell growth and have many other health promoting functions in your body. The friendly bacteria that are responsible for the primary amount of healthy colonic fermentation are called the probiotics (pro-life) and include the Bifidobacteria and Lactobaccillus genuses. Along with providing beneficial fermentation products, probiotic bacteria keep pathogenic, or disease-promoting bacteria, from colonizing your colon. Certain fibers in food, called prebiotics, specifically support these probiotic bacteria. Prebiotics include such molecules as inulin and fructooligosaccharides, which are found in chicory and Jerusalem artichoke, and may include some other carbohydrates such as galactooligosaccharides, arabinogalactans, and arabinoxylans, which are found in soy and rice fibers, and in larch tree extracts. Some fiber isnt fermented, but it is also important because it provides bulk for stool excretion, and can bind toxins and waste products for their removal through the stool. Finally, the rectum and the anus allow for controlled elimination of stool.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 17:43:37 +0000