While, obviously, there is considerable variation owing to a number of factors, how long, on average, does it take from the time one eats a food until the food is ready to leave the body? Liquids?
I believe the test is to eat some sweetcorn, await developments and inspect the results.
I nominate this post for the Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Euphemisms award.
Any food will have different parts which will leave at different times. Roughage like corn shells might pass right through in a matter of hours, but the inside of the kernel will have been digested and used in various parts of the body, with those atoms mostly eventually being exhaled. And some minerals in food will get incorporated into bone, and remain in the body for a decade or more.
I find it fascinating that the Mayo study found such marked differences between men and women. Any speculation about why that would be the case?
Are hormones involved in the digest— …
Oh. I just remembered. Period shits. The hormone causing muscular contractions in the utetus does the same for the neighboring intestines. That’s gotta account for statistical differences, as found by the Mayo Clinic, right?
Body weight might also be relevant, as well as cultural differences in diet between men and women.
When I hurt my back a few weeks ago and had a hard time getting around I went 3-4 days without taking a dump. It’s as if my digestive system knew I’d have a hard time getting up and sitting on the throne and slowed things down.
Pain meds, even ibuprofen or acetaminophen (Motrin and Tylenol, respectively), can slow down digestion by slowing down the movement of the bowel. A lack of your usual level of walking around can also slow down digestion. I always recommend docusate (stool softeners) when people are taking any pain meds, plus making sure one increases fiber intake.
Hot foods, too: Buffalo wings, hot peppers, etc.
But how is it that I chew the corn up, but yet it comes out whole?
A corn kernel is like a little bag. When you chomp down on it, you squeeze out the easily-digestible contents, but the bag is still mostly intact.
Got to point out the Carol Channing I don’t remember eating corn story; it’s an oldie!
Those results really surprise me. When I eat corn for dinner, it comes out the next morning. 12 hours! Am I the intestinal equivalent of a world-class sprinter?
Apple juice - 2 hours, tops!
I can accept that answer, but the next time I have corn I’m chewing up and spitting it out to examine the casings.
TMI warning, although this is the place for it.
If I eat incompletely cooked hot peppers, my intestinal gas will smell like peppers within an hour or two. They don’t otherwise bother my GI tract.
Anyone know why?
I heard that it takes three (3) days for pizza dough to eliminate from your body …
I too find this extraordinary.
Maybe the extra time is taken to make sure it smells like roses.