The esophagus empties into the stomach, a large, muscular chamber that mixes food up with digestive juices including the enzyme pepsin, which targets proteins, and lipase, which works on fats.

Protein digestion begins in the stomach, where enzymes like pepsin break down proteins into smaller peptides. These peptides then travel to the small intestine, where they’re further broken down ...

For example, without proteases like pepsin, your body wouldn't be able to digest and absorb the protein found in foods. In addition to their role in protein digestion, proteases are necessary for ...