The various processes that are involved in the nutrition are as follows
(i) Ingestion The process by which food is taken into the body of an organism is called ingestion.
(ii) Digestion The process by which the food containing large insoluble substances is broken down into small water soluble substances is called digestion. There are two methods of digesting food, i.e., physical method (including chewing and grinding of food in mouth) and chemical method (addition of digestive juices to the food by the body itself).
(iii) Absorption The process by which the digested food passes through the intestinal wall into blood stream is called absorption.
(iv) Assimilation The process by which the absorbed food is taken in by body cells and used for energy, growth and repair is called assimilation.
(v) Egestion The process by which the undigested food material is removed from the body is called egestion.