Digestion Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke, he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells And Belle, she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons And they're coming to your place!

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh yeah! #

Mm! Oh, hello there. Excuse me.

I'm just finishing my lunch. It's my favourite today.

Pasta with tomato and vegetables.

And I might treat myself and have some chocolate ice-cream later. Yes!

BEEPING

Oh! I hear a beep, I see a flash. I wonder what they're going to ask?

BOTH: Hi, Nina.

-Hello.

-We've got a question for you.

Where does food go when we eat it?

A brilliant question! Where does food go when we eat it?

Come down to my lab and we'll do some experiments to investigate.

BOTH: See you soon, Nina. Bye!

Bye!

I'll need help to answer this and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is, "Where does food go when we eat it?"

Which Neuron will be most useful to help find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! Me! Oh, me!

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages to brain from ear. If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

-Will it be lovely Luke?

-For looking and seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

-Will it be awesome Ollie?

-If it's pongy or whiffy

but you can't tell, my messages help your sense of smell.

-Or will it be baby Bud?

-Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat!

Yippee!

ALL: Go Bud! Go Bud! Go Bud!

Go Bud! Go Bud!

-Go Bud!

-Give me a taste of the action, Nina.

Today's question is, "Where does food go when we eat it?"

We taste food when we eat, so Bud will be helping today.

Right, I need to get the lab ready for the experimenters.

Arianna likes smoked salmon and Maria likes trampolining.

But they both want to know where food goes when we eat it.

So today, for one day only,

Arianna and Maria become the experimenters!

-Hi, guys.

-BOTH: Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my science lab. Come on in.

Now, you asked where does food go when we eat it,

A brilliant question.

-Why do you want to know?

-We love eating food.

But we don't know where it goes when we swallow it.

What our brilliant bodies do with the food is really amazing.

I've got some fun experiments. Let's start with senses.

ALL: Whoop-woo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina.

Now, do any of you know why we eat food?

To keep us big and strong.

Yes. Food is really important in helping our brilliant bodies

grow big and strong,

because food gives us energy. Let's do an experiment

with these toys to explain what we mean by energy.

Now, they're not moving at the moment.

Let's wind them up and see what happens.

Oh!

-What's happening now?

-They're moving.

Yes. By winding up the toys, we gave them the energy they needed to move.

But moving uses up energy

and when the energy runs out, the toys stop.

This is like what happens to our bodies.

When we run, walk, play, or even think or talk,

our body uses up energy.

Energy comes from food.

It's important to eat regular, healthy meals,

so we stay lively and energetic.

What happens when you put food in your mouth?

We chew it and we swallow it.

That's right. By chewing our food, we mash it all up in our mouths.

For this experiment, that's what you're going to do

with those potato mashers.

So get mashing! Go for it and mash it up!

Please remember that this is an experiment.

It's not good to waste food normally.

Perfect!

What's happened to the food now?

-It's gone all squished.

-That's right.

Chewing breaks down food into small pieces.

When we swallow food, it goes on an exciting journey

through our digestive system. The food moves down a tube

and then into our tummies.

Here in our stomach, it gets mixed up

and broken down even more.

To find out more about where our food goes,

we're going to slide off on an exciting journey of our own.

-Let's go, experimenters.

-BOTH: Yeah!

-Wonder where we're going today?

-Nina said slide off somewhere.

-Maybe it's an ice-rink with swishy skates.

-That would be wonderful.

'Hey, I see it now!

'They're going to be sliding all right,

'but not on the ice!' LAUGHTER

Well, I told you we were going to slide off on an exciting adventure.

And you won't get a much bigger slide than this.

In the lab, we mashed up food

to show how it gets broken down in our mouth and stomachs,

which are part of our digestive system.

The next part of the journey

is through these long, wiggly tubes

we call intestines.

That's a big, long word, Nina.

A big, long word for big, long tubes, Belle.

Intestines are really long, wiggly tubes that are folded up

inside our brilliant bodies.

What's this slide got to do with it?

Let's climb up to the top to find out.

For this experiment, we're going to pretend

that these giant slides are intestines

and we're the food moving down them.

Take a mat.

OK. So everyone, onto the slide.

Are you ready?

OK. One, two, three, go!

Oh! Oh, you're not moving. You're stuck.

-Why do you think that might be?

-The mats are sticking.

These rubber mats are not very slidey, Nina.

You're right. The mats are sticking to the slide, so it's hard to move.

This can happen to food in our intestines too.

If we don't drink enough water, the food gets hard and dry.

Then it has trouble sliding through

the squiggly tube and can cause something called constipation,

which can give us a sore tummy. We should try different mats.

Hee-hee!

These mats are made of fibre

and we sprayed some water on them too.

They'll be better than the dry, rubber ones.

So let's get on, guys.

OK. One, two, three, go!

Ooh!

LAUGHTER

Wa-hey-hey-hey! That was amazing!

Oh, my. It felt like we were flying.

Wow! That was brilliant, wasn't it?

Remember we were pretending the big slide

was a squiggly intestine and we were food sliding down?

The rubber mats stuck to the slide and didn't move.

But when we used the wet fibre mats, we slid down easily.

Certain foods, like fruit and vegetables

and some breakfast cereals, contain lots of food fibre.

The fibre mixes with the water we drink

and helps food slide easily through our wiggly intestines.

That's why It's important to eat lots of healthy fibre foods

and drink lots of water.

Something else important happens in our intestines.

-Let's go back to the lab for one final experiment.

-BOTH: Yay!

We're going to pretend that this clear tube is part of our intestine.

-Now, remember you mashed up a lovely plate of food earlier?

-BOTH: Yeah.

Well, for this experiment, we're going to put the mashed-up meal

inside the intestines and push it along to see what happens.

Ho-ho! So let's get pouring!

What can you see happening in the intestine tube?

Little bits of food are falling into the tray.

This is what happens inside our bodies.

Some parts of the food we eat are mashed up enough

to squeeze through tiny holes in the intestine

and move into our body.

These parts of the food are used by our body for energy

and other important things to keep us healthy.

But what else can you see

-inside the intestine tube?

-There's still bits of food.

Yes. Not every bit of every food

can fit through the little holes.

This is the stuff our body can't make into energy.

Oh, does that mean it's not good for us, Nina?

No, Bud. Remember, things like fruit, vegetables

and cereals have good food fibre in them.

And just like the fibre mats on the giant slide

that got us moving, fibre in our food

helps to move the food along too.

So even though bits of this food are left over,

it's still done an important job in our digestive system.

It keeps moving down to the end of the intestine

and is pushed out of our body into the toilet as poo.

Your question was, "Where does food go when we eat it?"

And I think we've answered it.

When we eat, food travels down a tube

into our stomach and through our intestines.

Our body takes out the bits of the food

it needs to make energy and keep us healthy.

Everything else moves down to our bottom

and is pushed out in the toilet as poo.

It's really important that we eat lots of healthy fibre foods

and drink lots of water to keep everything moving.

Or we get a sore tummy and have trouble going to the toilet.

-I hope that's answered your question.

-BOTH: Thanks, Nina. Bye!

You're welcome. Bye!

Want to find out more about the science that's all around us?

Go to the Nina page on the CBeebies website. Have fun!

-Hearts beating.

-Lungs breathing.

-Fingers feeling.

-Mouths eating.

And don't forget your brain.

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Inside and o-o-out

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Come on let's find out about

# Our handy hands and bendy knees

# Stretchy backs and noses that sneeze

# We all have brilliant bodies...

ALL: Brilliant bodies!

# Every part has a job to do

# Even scabs and earwax too

# We all have brilliant bodies...

ALL: Brilliant bodies!

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Lashes to protect our eyes

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# And don't forget to exercise. #

Oh, I've had a brilliant day.

Listening to the wind-up toys using up all their energy.

I've had a fabby day!

Mashing up the food was great fun.

It's been a marvellous day.

The fibre mat made Nina slide really fast. Whee!

Ah, its been such a great day, man.

Watching them slide food through the intestine tube.

Very clever.

Remember, everyone's body is different but they're all brilliant.

See you again soon. Bye!

ALL: Bye!

E-mail: [email protected]