How fast can food pass through the body?

Asked by vanguardian (735

) | asked January 16th, 2008 | 2 responses | “Great Question” (2

I’ve heard conflicting numbers on this. If I ate a meal, how long does it take for the digestive system to do its job? I know people that eat a crappy lunch and run to the bathroom in 2 hours…so also, is it different if its Diarrhea?

Follow this question

Send to a friend!

Topics: food, health, crap, shit, stomach, digestive system, diarrhea, bowel movements

Observing members: 0

Composing members: 0

Answers

Food takes many hours to pass through the body, though I believe the exact amount of time depends on the particular food. What you’re describing may be the peristaltic wave (basically, your body’s response to eating being to get rid of the old to make room for the new).

segdeha (1503

)“Great Answer” (1

) Flag as…

Most casual references say 48 hours for normal progression. You can always eat some corn and then time it.

I have had mild cases of food poisoning that begin the process of expelling the material immediately (before the end of the meal)- how long it would take under those conditions for a particular particle of food to complete the trip, I don’t know. From the effects, I was say not very damn long.

syz (4285

)“Great Answer” (0

) Flag as…