Aspects of food structures in the digestive tract

Food structures play an important role in the digestion of food and the delivery of nutrients. The knowledge of the disintegration of food structures during processing in the gastro-intestinal tract is useful for structure design in food products. Recent studies on the disintegration of food structures in solid foods during oral processing and gastric digestion are reviewed. The studies in both natural food and processing model food gels highlighted the significant impact of structure and material properties on the rate and extent of food breakdown and release of nutrients in the mouth and stomach. Understanding the influence of food structure on the disintegration of food, and transport and absorption of nutrients within the body will assist the development of new products with enhanced functionalities.