The amount of time it takes each mouthful of food to fully pass through your digestive system is known as “transit time”.

The gastrointestinal tract is about 9 m in length and a lot happens along the way!

• In the mouth, food is chewed to break it into smaller pieces and salivary amylase, an enzyme, starts to digest starches.
• Once swallowed, the food makes its way to the stomach, where it is mixed with the digestive juices (acid and more enzymes). These juices work away at the digestible carbohydrates, proteins and fats to break them into smaller components which are then released into the small intestine.
• Here, more enzymes complete the breakdown of the digestible carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The nutrients which are released during this process are absorbed into the bloodstream along with some water.
• Any remaining indigestible material (dietary fibre) and water are passed into the large intestine where the resident bacteria ferment the dietary fibre, helping to release the remaining nutrients available. Those nutrients, along with more water, are absorbed into the bloodstream.
• Lastly, waste products, including any remaining food which has not been digested or fermented, become stool and is passed out as a bowel movement.

For someone who is not constipated and doesn’t have diarrhoea, this whole process takes on average 48 hours¹. However, this can vary depending on your individual metabolism and what you have eaten, and it may vary from day to day.

It is therefore important to get to know your “normal”. If your transit time is too short (food passes through quickly), then your body doesn’t have enough time to absorb the essential nutrients it needs. Conversely, if your transit time is too slow, your body may absorb too much water from the stool as it forms, resulting in hard bowel motions which are difficult to pass and can lead to haemorrhoids or diverticular disease.

An easy way to check your transit time is to eat a spoonful of corn and see how long it takes for it to appear and then disappear again in your stool.

Need to improve your transit time? If your bowel is moving too quickly, then you may need to consult your GP as you may have an underlying cause such as an allergy, IBS, or IBD. If your bowel is moving too slowly, then here’s a few tips for helping it along:

• Consume a good amount of dietary fibre. This can be found in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and legumes. Whole food sources of fibre are best as they also contain other nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and other bioactives.
• Stay hydrated! Water helps to keep the ingested food moving along the gut and will keep your stool soft and easy to pass. 2 – 3 L a day is recommended.
• Keep active. Exercising helps to stimulate the natural contractions of the muscles in the intestines.
• Take a supplement like Actazin. The natural green kiwifruit components in Actazin help to normalise your bowel, stimulating mucus production, reducing inflammation, and modulating muscle contraction².

References

1. Evans, R. C., Kamm, M. A., Hinton, J. M., & Lennard-Jones, J. E. (1992). The normal range and a simple diagram for recording whole gut transit time. International Journal of Colorectal Disease, 7(1), 15–17. doi:10.1007/bf01647654
2. Unpublished data. An in silico efficacy analysis of Actazin on gut motility.