🌊 How Does Food Move Through Your Body? 🌊 Peristalsis is the rhythmic muscle contraction that moves food down your digestive tract. Controlled by the enteric nervous system—a specialized part of the nervous system that operates independently within the gut—peristalsis ensures that food is transported, digested, and absorbed as it moves through the stomach, intestines, and beyond. The autonomic nervous system also assists by regulating these movements, making peristalsis a highly coordinated an