Which of the following is the first of the five steps of the digestive process?

The first step of the digestive process is mechanical digestion, which involves the physical breakdown of food into smaller pieces. This is crucial because it increases the surface area of food, making it easier for enzymes to access the nutrients during subsequent stages of digestion. Mechanical digestion starts in the mouth, where teeth chew food and mix it with saliva. This initial phase is essential for initiating the overall digestive process and ensuring that food can be efficiently processed in the stomach and intestines.

The other steps of digestion, such as chemical digestion, peristalsis, and absorption, occur later in the digestive process. Chemical digestion involves the enzymatic breakdown of food into its molecular components, peristalsis refers to the rhythmic contractions that move food through the digestive tract, and absorption is the process where digested nutrients are taken up by the body. Each of these steps plays a significant role, but they follow mechanical digestion in the sequence of how food is processed in the digestive system.