ShmoopTube

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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Food has many different uses… [A plate of melon, orange and lime chunks]

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It can be a source of comfort...nothing like cuddling up with our pals Ben and Jerry after

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a tough day…

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…it can be a weapon of war…

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…and it can even be the ultimate payback to your brother for wearing your favorite

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pair of sneakers without asking. [Brother throws pie into brothers face]

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…Huh.

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We guess that's still kind of a weapon of war.

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But its most important use?

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Drum roll please…and maybe a drum stick, please… [Drum roll and chicken drum sticks appear]

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…as a source of energy!

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If we were cars, food would be our gasoline.

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We need it to run.

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Well, not just run. [Mother chasing her son in park]

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To walk, to talk, to think, to speak.

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And to throw cream pies at siblings. [Big brother on the floor with cream pie in his face]

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Basically, food provides us with the energy we need to function.

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Of course, humans are a pretty smart bunch, and some fancy scientists actually figured

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out a way to calculate the exact amount of energy that a food contains. [Scientists working in a lab]

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They called it….Frank.

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…Just kidding.

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They called them calories.

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You know, those things that your parents always seem to be watching.

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We don't know why.

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Seems pretty boring…

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Anyway, scientists use a tool called a calorimeter to measure the amount of [Dino discussing calorimeter]

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calories in any given food.

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The calorimeter figures out how many calories there are in food by pretending to be the

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human body and slowly burning through the calories, or energy, at a steady and measurable rate.

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This tells us how many calories there are. [Calorie content circled on food label]

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But not all calories are equal.

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See, there are good calories and there are bad calories.

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Good calories can be found in the kind of food that you'd probably consider to be healthy.

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Think fruits, vegetables, nuts, healthy meat, whole wheat bread – y'know, the stuff your [Selection of vegetables, nuts and meats]

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mom would definitely prefer you be eating all the time.

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These “good calorie" foods are considered good because they contain a ton of the vitamins,

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minerals, and fiber that the body needs to stay healthy. [Coop eating corn]

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These foods also tend to fill you up pretty easily, so you don't need to eat as many calories [Girl with huge plate of vegetables]

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before you feel full.

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Bad calories, on the other hand, are found in soda, candy, potato chips, fast-food and

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all the junk food you can imagine.

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These are considered “bad” calorie foods because they don't have many nutrients, and

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are often extremely high in calories despite not really filling you up. [Dino eating junk food]

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Which in turn, means you eat way, way more than you need to.

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And what happens when you eat more calories than your body needs to burn to keep you energized? [Man laid on a sofa eating chips and drinking soda]

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Well, your pants go from looking like this...

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To this...

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Eating too many calories can cause you to gain weight, while eating too few can cause

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you to feel tired and unable to focus. [Man falls over in a park]

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That's why it's important to eat healthy foods and understand calories so that you can eat

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the right amount!

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Thankfully for you, being a kid means that you're constantly growing, so you're allowed [Little girls eating pizza slices]

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to eat way more calories than most other people since you need all that energy to grow.

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Enjoy all those nuts and veggies!

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…Okay, and maybe the occasional bowl of ice cream. [Boy with bowl of nuts and veges and bowl of ice cream appears]

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…Don't tell your parents we said that.

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