The gut, or digestive tract, is an organ that digests our food in several stages. As part of digestion it takes all the useful parts from the food we eat and absorbs them so our bodies can make use of them in the constant act of staying alive. It links with other organs like the liver, and pancreas; and it protects from poisons; stores and transports nutrients; reabsorbs water and gets rid of the stuff we can’t use. It also plays host to many different species of bacteria that live in symbiosis with us. These bacteria have a constant source of food and in return they provide functions such as extracting nutrients, making vitamins and training our immune systems.
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