Which process involves breaking down food in preparation for absorption?

The correct choice is Digestion, which is the process that involves breaking down food into smaller, more manageable components in preparation for absorption. This process begins in the mouth, where mechanical and chemical breakdown starts with chewing and saliva, and continues in the stomach and intestines. During digestion, complex food substances are broken down into simpler molecules—like carbohydrates into sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids and glycerol—making them small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestines.

Metabolism, while closely related, refers to the biochemical processes that occur within living organisms to maintain life, including converting food into energy and building or breaking down molecules. Absorption is the next step after digestion, where the digested food components are taken up by the epithelial cells of the intestine and then transported into the bloodstream. Fermentation is a type of metabolic process that occurs in the absence of oxygen and typically involves the breakdown of substances such as sugars by microorganisms. While it does relate to food, it is not the primary process for breaking down food in preparation for absorption in most animals.