ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -After you eat, it takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine. Food then enters your large intestine (colon) for further digestion, absorption of water and, finally, elimination of undigested food.

Detailed explanation-2: -How long after you’ve eaten does food leave your stomach? Generally speaking, it takes about 2 to 4 hours for food to move from your stomach to your small intestine.

Detailed explanation-3: -It takes between four to six hours for your body to digest food, says Craig Gluckman, MD, a gastroenterologist at UCLA Health. This is the amount of time it takes for the food to go from your mouth to your colon, also known as the large intestine.

Detailed explanation-4: -After a meal, it normally takes 1 1/2 to two hours for food to move out of the stomach and into the small intestine. When your stomach takes longer than normal to empty, it’s called gastroparesis. If food stays in your stomach for too long, it can harden into a solid mass called a bezoar.

Detailed explanation-5: -The F.D.A. defines an empty stomach as “one hour before eating, or two hours after eating.” The F.D.A.’s two-hour rule is just a rule of thumb; the stomach will probably not be completely empty.