Cephalic Phase: The Initial Response
The digestive process for cheese, pepperoni, and onion pizzas involves breaking down different components at various stages. It starts when a person first sees, smells, or thinks of pizza during the cephalic phase. When the salivary glands generate saliva, the amylase enzyme breaks down carbohydrates into simpler sugars like glucose (Raymond & Morrow, 2022). The teeth automatically cut the pizza into smaller pieces when someone takes a bite, increasing the surface area.
Gastric Phase: Breakdown in the Stomach
The process starts when the pizza is swallowed and goes into the stomach. During the gastric phase, the stomach releases gastric juices such as pepsin and hydrochloric acid (Wyllie et al., 2020). The digestive enzyme pepsin breaks down the proteins in cheese, pepperoni, and onions into smaller peptides.
Small Intestine: Enzymatic Digestion and Nutrient Absorption
Most of the partially eaten pizza’s breakdown and absorption occurs in the small intestine. Trypsin, lipase, and pancreatic amylase are among the substances the pancreas secretes into the duodenum at this location (Raymond & Morrow, 2022). While trypsin continues to break down proteins into amino acids and lipase continues to break down lipids into fatty acids and glycerol, simple sugars are still generated from carbs.
Bile Secretion and Nutrient Transport
The small intestine identifies fat and discharges bile into the duodenum in the following step. Through emulsification, lipids are reduced to tiny droplets, increasing their surface area and improving their digestibility (Raymond & Morrow, 2022). Then, carbohydrates are converted into glucose, proteins are broken down into amino acids, and fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol (Wyllie et al., 2020). The bloodstream carries these nutrients during this process, giving the organism the energy and raw materials it requires (Raymond & Morrow, 2022).
Large Intestine: Waste Processing and Elimination
Pizza leftovers pass through the large intestine along with waste materials and indigestible fiber. Eventually, the body eliminates the inedible components of the pizza and other waste products in feces.
Hormonal Regulation of Digestion
By coordinating the release of enzymes and digestive fluids at different locations along the gastrointestinal tract, hormones play a crucial part in controlling the digestive process. When partly digested food, particularly fats and proteins, is present, the cells of the duodenum and jejunum of the small intestine produce CCK (Wyllie et al., 2020). It is released when the small intestine recognizes cheese and pepperoni oil as fat sources. Bile is released into the duodenum when the gallbladder contracts in response to the CCK signal (Raymond & Morrow, 2022).
Pizza’s proteins and peptides trigger the gastrin release as it reaches the stomach, further accelerating the gastric juice output. Pizza reaches the small intestine during the gastric phase, producing secretin, which causes the pancreas to secrete pancreatic juice high in bicarbonate (Wyllie et al., 2020). This aids in balancing the stomach’s acidic chyme, resulting in a pH that is more suited for the action of pancreatic enzymes, including trypsin, amylase, and lipase.
Enzymes and Hormones in Digestion
Thus, the digestive system uses several enzymes, including amylase, pepsin, pancreatic amylase, lipase, and trypsin, to digest proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Pizza’s components are broken down throughout each stage of digestion, increasing their availability for the organism to absorb and use. Under these circumstances, the three most significant hormonal regulators of the digestive process are CCK, gastrin, and secretin. These hormones regulate the responses of the digestive tract to challenging pizza components.
References
Raymond, J. L., & Morrow, K. (2022). Krause and Mahan’s food and the nutrition care process e-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Wyllie, R., Hyams, J. S., & Kay, M. (2020). Pediatric gastrointestinal and liver disease e-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.