Eli5: How do our digestive system recognize complex substances?

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Like, what exactly happens when you take a pill of vitamin A compared to vitamin D? Or a tiny grain of fentanyl? How exactly do our body recognize these extremely complex substances and not confuse one from another?

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You need to stop visualizing the body as one entity, it’s billions of smaller entities that work together by chance, unaware of their purpose. If you understand this, everything becomes clearer.

So the vitamins aren’t recognised instantly, they are absorbed in your intestines and get into your bloodstream, where they find molecules tailor-made to complement their shape that bind them. That’s how they are recognised, there’s a specific molecule made to bind them.

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