Slim Goodbody sings about digestion

Slim Goodbody, also called Mr. Goodbody, was a character who performed songs about exercise, personal hygiene, and nutrition. The 1970s-era skits, which became a television program, featured the character’s creator John Burstein in an iconic biologically-accurate bodysuit.

In this music-filled clip, one in a series called The Inside Story, Goodbody sings about “the digestive pathway and explains how food is broken down before our bodies can use it.” He also reveals “the role of teeth, the stomach, small intestines, saliva, enzymes, and blood in digestion.”

The middle of the video includes a reenactment of the ethically dubious experiments of United States Army surgeon William Beaumont. In 1822, Beaumont treated Alexis St. Martin, a French Canadian whose gunshot wound healed with a permanent opening to his stomach. From Mackinac State Historic Parks:

“Beaumont realized this presented a unique opportunity to observe the digestive process inside a living person, and at the urging of the surgeon general of the army began making informal notes about what he could see inside St. Martin’s stomach as it worked to digest food… By the time the final experiments concluded, Beaumont had gained a much clearer understanding of the human digestive process, publishing his findings as Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion.”

“Although other physicians and scientists had previously contributed to our understanding of how our stomachs work, St. Martin’s injury allowed Beaumont to make critical observations about the mechanical and chemical processes which occur during the digestive process.”

The video ends with a trip to the grocery store, more singing about carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, and a song about feeling great with a rainbow on your plate.

“Your body is truly amazing, but it’s up to you to take good care of it. A balanced diet is essential to health. Remember, there’s no such thing as a single food which gives your body all the nutrients it needs. You have to combine foods together, balance them out. While I don’t have time to give you a complete menu, I can give you a piece of healthy advice. Make sure you eat a rainbow of foods every day.”

Slim Goodbody has a YouTube channel.

Watch this next: Eat Your Rainbow, a vocabulary-packed sing-along song.

Plus: Them Not-So-Dry Bones – Schoolhouse Rock.