STEFAN GATES:
Right, vitamins and minerals, you beautiful people. Now, I know that for most people, you only ever bother thinking about them when you're so bored with life you are reading the side of a cereal packet. 13.6 micrograms of niacin. What does it mean?!
But we should sit up and take notice, because these tiny, tiny, teeny micronutrients actually play a huge role in the diet. For instance, vitamin C. There's loads and loads of it in oranges, but if you don't get enough, you can end up getting scurvy, when your connective tissue starts to rot, and you start speaking like a pirate. Well, apart from the pirate bit.
SAVANNAH STEVENSON
Feeling healthy and avoiding getting ill are really important when you're singing and dancing in eight shows a week. Not me - a proper star. I'm Savannah Stevenson and I'm currently playing Glinda in the West End production of Wicked. I love the show, I love the music, the costumes, everything. It's fabulous. Food is really, really important in my job, because I have to have lots and lots of energy. So I really try and eat really nutritious food. Things that are going to give me the vitamins and minerals that I need to stay well, because even just a simple cold can mean that I can't work.
For me, my most important meal is my lunch, and I get most of my nutrition in that meal. So I will probably add something like a smoothie or a juice that I have juiced myself. I go on the philosophy that, like, anything that is really bright and colourful is really good for you. I really love it, and for me it's a way that I can cram a lot of nutrition into one meal.
I know that vitamins and minerals are really, really good to help us look as good as we can. There's my smoothie. It's actually really, really nice. It's really sweet. So, clear skin and strong nails, strong teeth, shiny hair, all of those things come from vitamins and minerals. I've got to get ready. It's 7:20, so I've got to send you away. Thank you for visiting. I'll show you out. Bye.
STEFAN GATES:
Savannah is spot-on. Now, the key to getting all of those essential vitamins and minerals that you need is dead simple. Just eat as wide a variety of foods as you possibly can.
So, first up, minerals! They include calcium, this season's must-have for healthy teeth and strong bones. Iron, whoo! An absolute classic, crucial for your body's constant building of red blood cells. And then there's the ABC of vitamins. Give me a vitamin A! A! Keeps your eyes all-seeing, your skin all healthy and your body generally all… growingy. Vitamin B, there's lots of these. B1 breaks down and releases energy from the foods we eat. B2, my all-time favourite, keeps us producing red blood cells. And vitamin C! Brilliant for healthy skin, but also strengthens the immune system to fight off pesky bugs and germs. Ah-choo!
Now, these are called micronutrients because you only need a tiny amount of them in your diet. But I can still show them in your food with a little demonstration. So, down here I have a red cabbage. I'll take a little slice of red cabbage off. You can see it's got this beautiful colour inside. I'm going to chop this up into little bits. And have a really good look at the colour there. It's beautiful, this beautiful purply colour. And we are going to get the colour out of the red cabbage. Now, the colour, bizarrely, is also something called a fitonutrient. It's a tiny, tiny substance that you do need in your diet as well.
Now, add some water to the red cabbage. Then I'm going to mince it with one of these hand blenders. Be careful with these, they are very dangerous. Beautiful. OK. So we've got all of this dye, this beautiful dye into the water here. And now I'm going to strain all the solids off. Mm-mm! All right. We've got some lovely dye there. Then I'm going to take my dye and tip it into a big jug of water. That should do the trick. Now, it's got this sort of bluey-purply colour, because the water is neutral. What I'm going to do is add some vitamin C. Now, vitamin C is an acid called ascorbic acid. So when we tip a little bit of the acid into here it will turn all of this water ever so slightly acidic. And the anthocyanins do something quite interesting. Are you ready? Now, all of that water has turned bright pink because the anthocyanins are called a pH indicator. They turn a different colour when they're in acid.
Now, micronutrients might be tiny, tiny parts of your diet, but they play a huge role. And you can tell that from how dramatic the vitamin C is.
Video summary
West End actor Savannah Stevenson illustrates how foods full of vitamins and minerals are essential for her health. Meanwhile, Stefan Gates uses red cabbage to show how much vitamin C is in food.
We hear about different vitamins and minerals, what foods contain them, and their function in the body.
The importance of a varied diet to give a good supply of minerals like calcium, iron and vitamins A, B and C is emphasised.
This short film is from the BBC series, Gastro Lab.
Teacher Notes
You could challenge your students to find out which foods are rich sources of the main micronutrients (calcium, iron, vitamins A, B, C).
They could look up some recipes that use these rich sources that they can use to create a menu to promote a healthy varied diet.
This short film is relevant for teaching biology and food technology at Key Stage 3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 3rd Level in Scotland.
The science behind carbohydrates. video
Paralympic athlete Jordanne Whiley explains why carbohydrates are important in her diet. Meanwhile, Stefan Gates uses a 'sugar shotgun' to illustrate how energy is released from food and creates heat.
The science behind dietary fibre. video
Radio 1Xtra DJ Twin B explains how his breakfast rich in fibre gives him the energy for his show. Meanwhile, Stefan Gates uses a chemical replica of your gut to show how fibre creates gas.
The science behind fat. video
Comedian and CBBC star Johnny Cochrane explains his fondness for fast food and curry. Meanwhile, Stefan Gates shows how much fat is contained in one portion of chicken korma.
The science behind hydration. video
Olympic boxer Natasha Jones explains the importance of staying hydrated whilst training and competing. Meanwhile, Stefan Gates demonstrates the chemical composition of sweat.
The science behind protein. video
Rugby player Danny Cipriani highlights the importance of protein to help him train, whilst Stefan Gates performs an experiment to extract the protein from a glass of milk.
