can you digest food if you are standing on your head?

Answer 1

Yes! As the astronauts have learned, you do not need gravity for food to pass through your body!

(Otherwise, we could not take part in long-term space missions.)

The body has a process called peristalsis which takes place in our digestive system. Rhythmic muscular contractions move food from the throat to the stomach (when you swallow— try swallowing something you have in your mouth when you are hanging upside down from a jungle-gym in a playground, and you will see what I mean.)

Similarly these same type of rhythmic muscular contractions move food from the stomach to the small intestine, from the small intestine to the large intestine, and so on out of the body.

The actual digesting (breaking down of food, dissolving food with gastric juice and enzymes, and passing the dissolved nutrients into the bloodstream to nourish the entire body) does not need gravity to work, either. Your body digests food whether you are standing up or lying down.

29 JAN 07, 1808 hrs, GMT.

Answer 2

Yes,
Each component of your digestive system has muscles that work in a co-ordinated way to pump in one direction. Gravity does very little of the work (Even swallowing is not dependent on gravity).
In orbit our astronauts digest just fine.

Answer 3

Yes. Food in stomach and intestine moves by peristalsis the wavy movements , not gravity.