What term describes the process in which the body takes in and uses food?

The term that describes the process in which the body takes in and uses food is "nutrition." Nutrition encompasses the overall process of obtaining food, its breakdown and the body’s utilization of the nutrients contained within it to support growth, maintenance, and energy needs. It includes essential components such as the ingestion of food, the biochemical processing of nutrients, and how they contribute to bodily functions.

Digestion refers specifically to the mechanical and chemical processes that break down food into smaller components, which is a part of nutrition but does not cover the entirety of the process. Absorption is a specific phase within digestion where nutrients from digested food are taken up into the bloodstream. Nourishment, while related, typically refers more generally to the act of supplying the body with food and nutrients but does not capture the comprehensive scientific aspects that nutrition does. Thus, nutrition is the most accurate term for describing the holistic process of how the body takes in and uses food.