system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If the digestive process takes 24-72 hours, why do we feel sick/have diarrhea seemingly immediately after eating "bad" food?

Hoping someone can answer this. I imagine diarrhea is the body's way of flushing out something very quickly, but if it's happening under an hour from when we ate the food, what could it possibly be flushing out since the food is just starting the digestive process?

Thanks!
gpt
The problem with 'bad' food is pathogens - typically harmful bacteria - not the food itself. Hence you don't need to digest the food rather you just need enough time for the bacteria to do their thing - depending on what type of bacteria it is.