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Stomach and Intestines, The (4/8)

This is also part of this series: Don't Die Young (8)

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Subjects: Anatomy, Health Issues, Human Body, Medicine, Nutrition, Science

Grade Level: SrH-Adult
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No

Running Time: 30 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No

Copyright Date: 2008
Available in French: No

In this episode, Dr Alice Roberts gets to see inside her own stomach by swallowing a tiny camera – one of the latest diagnostic tools in modern medicine. The pictures recorded reveal some surprising, if harmless, results. Using dissection, drawing and some unusual tests involving sweetcorn and a stop-watch, she reveals where the stomach and intestines are, how big they are and how best to look after them. And since bowel cancer is the second most-common cause of death from cancer in the UK, it’s a message we all need to hear.

Dr Alice is joined by Lesley Love, a 40-year-old estate agent from Bristol whose diet is almost entirely based on chocolate and cheese, and that’s no exaggeration. How this woman has managed to stay a petite size 8 is anybody’s guess, but Dr Alice is more concerned about what is going on inside and embarks on a mission to impress upon her the need for more fruit and vegetables. Les is not alone. The UK National Health Service estimates that only 26% of men and 30% of women eat their recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day.

We all poo (defecate) – and to prove the point, there’s a trip to the sewers beneath London – but how often? Shoppers react with some amazement when asked this question on film, but Dr Alice reveals that anything from once every three days to three times a day is considered normal. It is actually important to be aware of your bowel habits and notice if anything changes, as this can be one of the signs of bowel cancer. The programme follows the story of Graham Twist, a retired gas engineer from Birmingham who has recently being diagnosed with bowel cancer, and films him as he undergoes surgery to remove a tumour.

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