WHERE THE NUTRIENTS GO

The intestine has a separate blood circulation that receives the ab­sorbed nutrients. This system is called the portal venous system, which sees that the initial food product absorption is channeled through the liver. The liver then processes the nutrients into accept­able forms for distribution and uptake throughout the body. The liver also serves an important role in removing or otherwise inacti­vating toxic products to prevent them from being absorbed into the bloodstream along with the nutrients. However, a consistently poor diet or one that is poorly digested can overwhelm these defense mechanisms. The compensatory abilities of the body can only pro­tect so much