Digestion size of the meal, and the process of digestion normally takes between 24 and 72 hours. Digestion begins in the mouth with the secretion of saliva and its digestive enzymes. Food is formed into a bolus by the mechanical mastication and swallowed into the esophagus from where it enters the stomach through the action of peristalsis. Gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin which would damage the walls of the stomach and mucus is secreted for protection. In the stomach further release of enzymes break down the food further and this is combined with the churning action of the stomach.
Stomach disease now more appreciated is gastroparesis. Gastroparesis affects millions of individuals and is often never suspected and most patients have a delay in diagnosis. Basically in gastroparesis, the stomach motility disappears and food remains stagnant in the stomach. The most common cause of gastroparesis is diabetes but it can also occur from a blockage at the distal end of stomach, a cancer or a stroke. Symptoms of gastroparesis includes abdominal pain, fullness, bloating, nausea, vomiting after eating food, loss of appetite and feeling of fullness after eating small amounts of food. During digestion, food is stored in the liquid present in