If a blood clot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke. A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked by a blood clot. If this clot cuts off the blood flow completely, the part of the heart muscle supplied by that artery begins to die.
Digestion works by moving food through the GI tract. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing and ends in the small intestine. As food passes through the GI tract, it mixes with digestive juices, causing large molecules of food to break down into smaller molecules.
Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth with salivary amylase. We previously learned that digestion of carbohydrates, and in particular starches, begins in the mouth with the action of salivary amylase. This enzyme catalyzes, or speeds along, the hydrolysis of the starch molecule.