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Digestive _______ secreted by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and small intestine break down macronutrients into absorbable components.

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Final answer:

Digestive enzymes are essential for breaking down macronutrients into absorbable components, through a cooperative effort of digestive organs and secretions from the salivary glands to the small intestine. They facilitate the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into their simple forms such as sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids.

Step-by-step explanation:

Digestive enzymes secreted by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and small intestine are crucial in breaking down macronutrients into absorbable components. In the digestive process, different organs produce a variety of enzymes and secretions that aid in the chemical digestion of food. Carbohydrates begin to digest in the mouth through salivary amylase, proteins are partially digested in the stomach with the help of HCL and pepsin, and the pancreas contributes with its enzyme- and bicarbonate-rich pancreatic juice that helps in the neutralization of the stomach acid and digestion of nutrients in the small intestine.

Accessory organs like the liver and gallbladder also play roles in digestion by producing bile and other secretions that assist in breaking down food into nutrients that the body can absorb. Overall, this complex interaction of organs and digestive secretions is essential for the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into simpler forms such as sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids, enabling their absorption through the intestinal wall.

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