Question

Assimilation is combining the digested food into material?
Shouldnt absorption come after assimilation.....Plz explain
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Answer 1

No. Absorption comes before assimilation.


Absorption is the absorption of digested materials.

Assimilation is the synthesis of new compounds required for the cell.

When food is travelling through the digestive system, they are broken into smaller molecules. This is done by mechanical and chemical digestion.

So after digestion, the simpler molecules like monosaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, etc. pass into the blood stream or lymph from the digestive system. This process is known as absorption. Without absorption, the ingested food won’t be available for use inside our bodies. Absorption is mainly taking place in our small intestine.

Assimilation is converting these molecules and integrating them with the living tissues. In simple words, it is the process of synthesizing biological compounds / macro molecules from the absorbed simple molecules through constructive metabolism. It is because of this process the body can synthesize essential compounds