After the small intestine has made it possible for the body to absorb the nutrients in food, the remaining waste will move into the large intestine. The large intestine is also known as the colon. Large intestines work by preparing the remaining food to be eliminated from the body. Without the large intestine, the remaining food that has been stripped of value would have no way of leaving the body. A normal large intestine measures from five to six feet long. Food will be in the large intestine for about 30 to 40 hours while waiting to be eliminated.

The large intestine has the job of drawing any water out of the waste before it eliminates it. With that in mind, it is important to know that healthy waste becomes solid in the large intestine. When it is passed from the small intestine to the large, the waste has the consistency of a thick liquid. Large intestines are made up of the colon, the rectum, the anal canal, the anus, the cecum and the appendix. The cecum is the part of the large intestine that first gets the waste from the small intestine, after all of the nutrients and vitamins have been stripped from the food. The cecum passes the waste on to the colon, which has the job of taking all of the water out of it. The colon is made up of four different parts. They are the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending colon and sigmoid colon.

The waste that has taken on a solid form in the large intestine is referred to as stool. The stool should now contain any material that does not benefit the body in some way. If the stool is watery, it could be a sign of many possible medical issues. Almost every illness has diarrhea as a possible side effect. The stool begins by going through the rectum to the anal canal. After the waste is in the large intestines anal canal, it can be pushed out through the anus. The anus has two sphincters. They are called the external sphincter and the internal sphincter. Both help to control the flow of stool by regulating it. Because of this, the large intestine is also known as being in charge of storing waste as well as releasing it.

A healthy bowel and healthy set of large intestines is very important when it comes to properly digesting food. A digestive system and set of large intestines that is not running well can have a hard time taking any nutrients out of the food that it ingests. Because of this, the food that one eats should reflect the needs of the body.