How is fat digested?

The process of fat digestion involves a series of steps that begin the moment food enters your mouth. Here’s a look at the process from beginning to end:

1. Mouth

Thedigestion processbegins when you start chewing your food. Your teeth break the food into smaller pieces and your saliva moistens the food so that it’s easier for it to move through your esophagus and into your stomach. Your saliva also contains enzymes that begin breaking down the fat in your food.

2. Esophagus

When you swallow, a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis moves the food through youresophagusand into your stomach.

3. Stomach

Yourstomachlining produces acids and enzymes that break your food down further so that the foods can pass to the small intestine.

4. Small intestine

The majority of fat digestion happens once it reaches thesmall intestine. This is also where the majority of nutrients are absorbed.

Your pancreas produces enzymes that break down fats,carbohydrates, andproteins. Your liver produces bile that helps you digest fats and certain vitamins. This bile is stored by the pancreas. These digestive juices are delivered to your small intestine through ducts where it all works together to complete the fat breakdown.

During this process, fat and cholesterol are packaged into tiny particles called chylomicrons

The large globules offatsare broken down by bile salts into smaller globules.Thisprocessis called emulsification. ... Lipase converts thesefatsinto fatty acids and glycerol.Fat digestiontakes place in small intestine. Thisdigested fatis absorbed into the body through the villi by diffusion.