How long does the digestion process take?

This might be somewhat technical but something I have always wondered.
How long does it take after you eat, say, a big Thanksgiving Day meal
for the entire DIGESTION process to take?

For example... You're done eating your meal, which, for this case we'll
say was a very large one, at about 6:00 PM. How long does it take for
all of the food to be assimilated and all of the nutrients including
calories, vitamins and minerals etc... etc... to be completed?

Also.... Once the food makes it's way into your lower intestine / bowel
area are there still processes that can affect you other than preparing
for elimination?

Just curious about this.

Thank You

DAVID

wrote:

This might be somewhat technical but something I have always wondered.
How long does it take after you eat, say, a big Thanksgiving Day meal
for the entire DIGESTION process to take?

Usually listed as a full day to pass end to end. I bet it's actually
a wide range of lengths of time.

Also.... Once the food makes it's way into your lower intestine / bowel
area are there still processes that can affect you other than preparing
for elimination?

Sure. There's stuff I can put in at the top that can trigger the
bottom soon. I figure such things will vary from person to
person so I'll offer an example from myself:

When I eat fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese a couple of hours
later there's rumbling in my belly and whatever is in my
bowels wants out. At times it happens so early I'm sure the
cottage cheese is still in my stomach so there's no way it
made it to the bottom. It doesn't happen when I eat full-fat
cottage cheese. I have no clue why it happens for one type
and not the other but it's consistant enough that I can use it
as a flush if I want.

Also consider the herb casgara sagrata. It triggers the runs
in a couple of hours and that's sooner than it could make it
through the length of the intestines. As far as I know the
chemicals in casgara sagrata as the basis for laxatives like
Exlax.

Not meaning to be gross, but I know when I have corn or a salad for
dinner, I see it again in the morning.

But we eat ALOT of fiber. Sometimes we'll have Triscuits and refried
beans for a snack. That's about 15-20 grams of fiber right there.

Mitch wrote:

Not meaning to be gross, but I know when I have corn or a salad for
dinner, I see it again in the morning.

And I think this method of calculation overstates the time. The large bowel
really doesn't do much but extract moisure. Digestion's over by the end of
the small bowel.

--
Paul Turner