The digestive tract transforms
food into nutrients.
Some examples of food: apples, bread, eggs, yoghurt, tomatoes.
Some examples of nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.
Some nutrients can be directly absorbed by the body. This is true of simple carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, small peptides and amino acids.
Others are more complex and need to be transformed. This is true for:
- Complex carbohydrates, such as starch, which need to be transformed into glucose.
- Proteins which need to be transformed into small peptides and amino acids.
- Fats needing to be transformed into fatty acids.