How Long Does It Take To Absorb Nutrients From Food?

There are six stages of the digestive process.


When you think of the digestive process, you might picture the (pretty creepy) plastic human body in the Healthy Harold van with their stomach lighting up, or perhaps you see a diagram of a mishmash of worm-like intestines. Although we eat and get rid of waste every day, not everyone has a clear idea of what’s actually happening in the digestive system, if at all. In reality, the process of digesting food and absorbing its nutrients is much longer and more complex than we believe. Here’s what happens as soon as you put food in your mouth.

The digestive process:

  • Stage one: Begins in the mouth via chewing, saliva and enzymes
  • Stage two: Food travels to the stomach via the esophagus
  • Stage three: Enters the stomach, where acids begin to break down food
  • Stage four: Food enters the small intestine, where it is further broken down and many nutrients are absorbed
  • Stage five: Passes through to large intestine, where other nutrients are absorbed, with the remaining solids finally making their way to the colon
  • Stage six: Solid waste is stored in the rectum and egested.

How long does it take to digest food?

“Digestion starts to happen immediately,” according to dietitian Chloe McLeod. “Some carbohydrates will be absorbed in the mouth as the food is chewed and broken down by enzymes. Enzymes in the stomach further break the food down, before most of the absorption taking place in the small intestine.” It normally takes 6-8 hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine, and to enter the large intestine, where it becomes fully digested.

“From there onward, it takes 40 hours for the waste to actually be excreted. It is a bit of a process, so what you’re eating for breakfast today isn’t going to be fully digested until the end of the day. What you eat for dinner is being digested overnight while you’re asleep.” The exact time it takes for food to be digested depends on which nutrients the food contains and the quantity of the meal.

“Plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables will usually move through more quickly than high-protein or fatty foods,” McLeod said. “Fat actually slows down digestion, so if the meal is higher in fat (whether it’s healthy or unhealthy fats) it will take longer to digest. Really high-fiber meals take a bit longer to digest, as well, because the fiber is bulking everything out and slowing the transit time down.”

How long does it take to absorb nutrients from food?

As we digest food, our body transports and utilizes various vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats at different points along the digestive tract. The absorption process begins around 3-6 hours after eating. “Nutrients get absorbed as the food is broken down, with the majority of nutrients being absorbed in the small intestine, where they’re then transported into the blood stream,” McLeod explained. “In particular, sugars will be digested quickly and absorbed through the stomach wall and the wall of the small intestine, to then be utilized by the body.

“Various enzymes break down carbs, fat and protein. For example, bile acid breaks down fat, pancreatic juices help break down carbohydrates. Some nutrients are also absorbed via the large intestine.” Some of the vitamins and minerals are absorbed by what’s called ‘active transport’ across intestinal membranes.

“So they will attach to another compound and be transported across a passage. Whereas other nutrients will passively diffuse through the walls,” McLeod said. “For example, as fat is digested, it is broken down into small compounds in the small intestine before it is absorbed through the intestinal wall. The fatty acids then bind to a protein called albumin and are transported to the liver for energy or turned into longer chain fatty acids.

“Some fats form into triglycerides and are then moved into the blood stream. Any unused fat ends up being stored in adipose tissue.” For carbs, they are transported into the blood stream, and then to the muscles and stored as glycogen to be used for energy. “Excess consumption also ends up with conversion to fat and stored in the adipose tissue.”

Pretty cool, huh??? We are a complex but fascinating organism!

Adapted fromJuliette Steen

Nutrition Tip of the Day

Help your children develop healthy habits early in life that will bring lifelong benefits! Be a good role model, make it fun, and involve the whole family in lifestyle changes.

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A new study published in Alcohol and Alcoholism finds that mice bred to consume high amounts of alcohol, but controlled by diet, did not necessarily develop the most severe liver injuries, suggesting that diet may pay an important role in liver injury development. Alcoholic liver disease is a global health burden and refers to a disease spectrum ranging from hepatomegaly and simple fatty liver (hepatic steatosis), to more severe pathologies such as alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatic cirrhosis. In the United States about half of the population drinks alcohol and approximately 38 million people are estimated to engage in binge drinking behavior. This study sought to compare mice bred to preferentially consume high amounts of alcohol (crossed-High Alcohol Preferring, or cHAP, mice) to other mice using a chronic-binge ethanol ingestion model to induce alcoholic liver disease.

The mice were randomized and given different diets over a four-week period. Researchers collected tissue and serum. The researchers discovered that the cHAP mice on a diet of alcohol and water consumed significantly more alcohol than cHAP or other mice maintained on an alcohol diet. However, cHAP and other mice on the alcohol diet together with the artificial sugar maltodextrin had greater hepatosteatosis and overall degree of liver injury compared to mice that consumed a diet of alcohol and water together with maltodextrin.

These data suggest factors other than total amount of alcohol consumed may affect the degree of alcoholic liver disease development. Additionally, because cHAP mice exhibit increasing ethanol consumption over time, consume ethanol in parallel with normal dietary intake, and show higher levels of daily ethanol consumption than mice maintained on the controlled diet, this model may provide an additional rodent model to study the effects of ethanol on hepatic pathology that more closely mimics human patterns of ethanol consumption in heavy drinkers. In discussing these outcomes, the authors speculated saturated fat in the diet of the standard rodent chow used, and/or epigenetic changes during strain development, may have accounted for lack of liver injury. This position is corroborated by studies demonstrating a protective role for saturated fats in chronic ethanol-fed rodents in which diminished inflammation and decreased micro- and macrovesicular steatosis occurs to promote hepatic fatty oxidation. Saturated fats may also inhibit the development of alcoholic liver disease by maintaining growth of intestinal microbiota.

The findings suggest that although cHAP mice consume consistently high/sustained levels of ethanol, other factors such as disparities in specific dietary components, differences in the patterns of alcohol consumption, and timing of feeding relative to peak blood-alcohol content, alter the degree of liver injury in cHAP versus other mice. “A critical role of the gut microbiome and fecal metabolites is becoming increasingly appreciated,” wrote Irina Kirpich and Craig McClain in an editorial accompanying the study. Marked differences in the composition of the diets used in this study may help explain why mice consuming the highest amounts of alcohol did not develop the most severe liver injury. Diet and microbiome may be important variables in the different outcomes observed in various experimental alcoholic liver disease models.”

Adapted from: Oxford University Press USA. (2017, September 25). Diet, in addition to alcohol consumption, may play important role in liver problems. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 17, 2017 from

Nutrition Tip of the Day

Do something! Don’t call it exercise – call it fun. Dance, ride a bike, take the dog for a long walk or just climb the steps in your home or apartment.

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Taking a break from dieting may improve weight loss








Nutrition Tip of the Day


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There are plenty of reasons to exercise and plenty of reasons to limit sugar, but the truth is, neither would be enough to stem the obesity epidemic. Studies show that exercise, despite all its benefits, cannot compensate for poor eating habits when it comes to weight loss. For the most part, too much sugar and too little exercise sugarcoat the real issue at hand: We’re eating meat and dairy products in quantities that our grandparents never imagined. Obesity was all but unheard of a century ago in the United States. By 1970, about 11 percent of the population qualified as obese. Today, that number stands at 36 percent. So what happened?


Eating 100 more pounds of meat and cheese – along with saturated fat and cholesterol – every year has, not surprisingly, only made us gain weight and get sick. Decades of science confirm that our waistlines would benefit from simply moving the animal products off our plates. According to 15 major research studies, vegetarian diets consistently lead to weight loss, even without calorie restriction or exercise and long-term observational studies show that vegetarian—especially vegan—populations are the trimmest and healthiest on the planet.


Tip of the Day

Enjoy foods from many cultures. Combinations of herbs and spices often remind us of dishes from our own heritage or our favorite ethnic food. Add flavor to meals with herbs and spices, such as chili, garlic, ginger, basil, oregano, curry, cilantro or turmeric.

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Vegan Diets Protect Against Prostate Cancer




Tip of the Day

Prep in different ways! Did you know that it may take up to a dozen tries for a child to like a new food? Don’t give up. Try preparing the same food in different ways! They may like a vegetable cooked but not raw or vice versa.

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Strategies to Prevent Obesity

Obesity, it’s a complex problem, and there is no single or simple solution to the obesity epidemic. Policy makers, state and local organizations, business and community leaders, school, childcare and healthcare professionals, and individuals must work together to create an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle. There are several ways state and local organizations can create a supportive environment to promote healthy living behaviors that prevent obesity.

State and Local Programs

Resources are available to help disseminate consistent public health recommendations and evidence-based practices for state, local, territorial and tribal public health organizations, grantees, and practitioners. Knowing your body mass index (BMI), achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular physical activity are all actions you can take for yourself to combat obesity.

Community Efforts


Healthy Living


  • Assessing Your Weight
  • Healthy Weight
  • ChooseMyPlate
  • Physical Activity Basics
  • Tips for Parents

Reprinted from CDC

Tip of the Day

Eat smart at and away from home. When you’re the chef, you control what you’re eating. If you eat out, check and compare nutrition information to choose healthier options.

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Gut Flora and Diet

There are a number of ways the gut flora in your body play a role in optimal health. Recent research points to diet as a key player.

Type 2 Diabetes and Inflammation

Endotoxins in gut bacteria can cause inflammation as they pass through the gut wall, and often appear in high levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Inflammation and high endotoxin levels are also associated with high-fat, low-fiber diets, known contributors to type 2 diabetes risk. A plant-based diet increases fiber and helps to protect against type 2 diabetes.

Cancer Prevention

Gut bacteria creates butyrate, a compound that may inhibit cancer cell growth, when it breaks down fiber. High-fat diets release excess bile into the gut to help process extra fat, which certain bacteria may convert into cancer-causing substances. A high-fiber dietary pattern and the resulting production of butyrate and related substances, along with healthy gut bacteria, are associated with a reduced risk of precancerous colon growths. Other findings indicate that the interaction between low-fiber, high-fat diets and gut bacteria could increase the risk of developing colon cancer.

How to Maintain Healthful Gut Bacteria

While probiotics can help diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and other specific conditions, what else can you do to maintain healthy gut flora? A whole-foods, plant-based diet ensures enough fiber for healthy gut bacteria cultivation. Special types of fiber called prebiotics can feed gut microbes linked to good health. Foods high in prebiotic fiber include leeks, asparagus, artichokes, garlic, onions, and soybeans. Starchy foods such as potatoes can help produce butyrate to ensure a healthy colon. Gut bacteria—a powerful “forgotten organ”–can help limit disease risk and promote good health.

Reprinted from The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Tip of the Day

Pump up that iron. Many beans, peas, and soy products are naturally low in fat and are packed with iron and protein. Use them in side dishes or as a main entree.

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