Thursday 13 September 2018

human biology - Can food swallowed when a person is upside down reach the stomach?


If a person positions him/herself upside down and swallows food, will it reach the stomach against gravity? If so how?



Answer



The eminent @JanDvorak has basically provided the full answer, but yes, it is possible. You can easily try this yourself, just lean off a bed and swallow something (small) and see what happens. Peristalsis in the esophagus is responsible for moving food down into the stomach. The big proof of this is that astronauts can eat when in space, when weightless. Their food is moved into the stomach just fine.


It's easier to do it upright (peristalsis + gravity) as opposed to upside down (peristalsis - gravity) but definitely quite possible.


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