We chew. But we don’t eat. Our food is eaten for us. I did not know this. I mean… I did… but not exactly.
I’ve always had this picture of my food: chewed and travelling down a perfectly straight esophagus, dropping into that wine bag of acid, where it is liquefied, and from there, dispersed to, well… wherever. Some scientist on N.P.R. was kind enough to explain differently, elaborate.
Now, I know we have bacteria in our stomachs, flora. What I didn’t picture was that these little guys, these bacteria, have mouths and butts. I always pictured them looking like, well, yogurt. Nor did I envision that the food we chew is actually eaten by these bacteria, not just magically dissolved. Eaten, digested and pooped.
As if that wasn't gross enough, the scientist went on to explain that after the first bacteria's meal and subsiquant defication, along comes another, smaller bacterium. This smaller bacteria eats the first bacteria's poop, digests it and poops it out too. Then another. And another. And so on—I think the scientist said, eight or ten times—until the food we put into our mouths is broken down, 'digested', enough for us to use.
Life is so crazy-beautiful.
I am about to feed my mini-monsters a local grapefruit. So sweet. The only thing I care about is that I get to eat it first.
ReplyDeleteI once thought to write an alien type story about this subject without explaining it until the end. Cartoon illustrations of monsters. It was only a thought as so many things for me are these days.
Yep I learn that in Anatomy. It's really cool how we digest things compared to other animals.
ReplyDeleteOnce it goes into the intestine from there it breaks it down even more to take what nutrients and other things from it we need then once it's drained of what we can't use then we get rid of it (poop)
Thanks I might need you when I take my exam
yes! " Life is so crazy-beautiful." and if this don't grant us humans some humility, what the heck will? we're only animals, fleshy nasty machines with the capacity to live beautifully if we so choose.
ReplyDeleteheh. you've got a great way of showing us, steven.
it's pretty nice to read you again. where'd you disappear to?
xo
erin