Approximately 9 L of water enters the digestive tract each day (figure 21.30). We ingest about 2 L in food and drink , and the remaining 7 L is from digestive secretions. Approximately 92% of that water is absorbed in the small intestine, about 7 % is absorbed in the large intestine,and about 1% leaves the body in the feces. Water can move in either direction by osmosis across the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. The direction of its movement is determined by osmotic gradients across the epithelium. When the chyme is diluted , water moves out of the intestine into the blood.