# How long to digest food?



## redkitty (May 12, 2007)

Ok, so this has me puzzled as I've read so many different things on the web.  I think we have a couple nutritionists here, yes?  Or anyone who knows the answer to..... how long does it take to digest our food?

I know digesting meat/chicken/fish etc takes longer than vegetables/fruit/legumes.  But how long?  

I read this from the Mayo Clinic...

Digestion: How long does it take? - MayoClinic.com

"This can vary — but usually between 24 and 72 hours in healthy individuals. After you eat, it takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine. Food then enters your large intestine (colon) for further digestion and absorption of water. Elimination of undigested food residue through the large intestine usually begins after 24 hours. Complete elimination from the body may take several days."

Any thoughts?  Does this seem pretty spot on?  Thank you!!!!


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## joanne81 (May 12, 2007)

It definatly sounds spot on from how I understand my body, but I'm not sure if that's the answer you were looking for! :p


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## bethzaring (May 12, 2007)

Digestion is an amazing and complicated process. If eaten separately, carbs travel through the fastest, then protein, then fat travels the slowest. But if eaten together, they all travel slower. I think it is very individual. In my experience and observation, 24 to 72 hours is way too long. It happens in a much shorter time for me.

When I worked in the nursing home, the nursing assistants would count the hours after the cornbread and beans and spinach meal and could determine when they would be very busy . It was around 18 hours after the meal.


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## mad_evo99 (May 12, 2007)

I think spicy burritos are in their own category :P


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## Angie (May 12, 2007)

When I was in Barber college we learned that it took 9 hours from start to finish....


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## Uncle Bob (May 12, 2007)

Miss Kitty..

You have it nailed down about as close as you can get. With so many variables it would be impossible to standardize digestion time lines that would apply to everybody!


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## jpmcgrew (May 12, 2007)

I say the very least is every 10 to 12 hours depending on what you eat but for sure in less than 24 hours.I know people that dont eliminate but once a week and think thats normal,that is not normal I even have a friend who is a nurse that says once a week is normal.Bull S++t.If you dont move it in a timely manner it becomes really toxic in the system.It can build up attach to the walls of your intestines and harden and build up more and more if you dont make sure you get it out.Thats why fiber plays such an important role in your diet.


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## Caine (May 12, 2007)

From personal experience: Within 60 minutes of swallowing 6 psyllium husk capsules!


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## redkitty (May 14, 2007)

Thank you for all the replies!


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## Michael in FtW (May 14, 2007)

Different foods are digested at different rates ... and that can be altered by mastication (chewing) ... gulping food barely chewed or throughly chewing it. 

Are you talking about digestion - or the time it takes food to travel from ingestion to elimination?


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## suhyj88 (May 14, 2007)

Aha~~~ I see ♬


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## Caine (May 14, 2007)

The answer is 10 to 12 hours.I heard this on a television show yesterday, but I can't remember which program it was on. Possibly Grey's Anatomy?


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## redkitty (May 14, 2007)

Thanks Michael, I was asking about digestion mostly.


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