Our Bodies

Inside our bodies. There are internal and external organs.

Groups of organs that work together to do a job are called body systems.

Circulatory System

• The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body.
It is usually a bit bigger than the size of a fist.
• Our circulatory system includes the heart and blood vessels (veins,
arteries and blood).
• The job, or function, of the heart is to contract (get shorter and
smaller) and then relax (go back to its original size)
continuously. This action pumps the blood around the body.
• It gets pumped to our lungs where it collects the oxygen our body
needs. Our blood then comes back into the other side of our heart.
From here it is pumped around the rest of our body.
Blood
• The liquid part of the blood is called plasma. It carries platelets to the site of the cut.
• Platelet is a component in the blood that helps wounds heal. It can stop bleeding.
• Plasma carries nutrients to where they are needed. It also carries waste products away.
• Platelets are not the only parts of blood carried in the plasma. It also contains red blood cells and white
blood cells.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to our muscles and other organs.
• White blood cells find and destroy invading germs.

Blood Vessels
• Blood is transported around the body in blood vessels. These are tubes that carry the blood to all parts
of the body.
• Blood only flows around our body in one direction.
• We have valves in our veins to stop the blood flowing back the wrong way.
• A valve is something in the veins that sop blood flowing backward.
• The blood takes oxygen from the lungs and transports it to every part of our body.
• This happens because the heart pumps the blood around the body, carrying oxygen.
• The blood also transports water and nutrients from our digestive system to other parts of the body.

Capillary is a very small thin blood vessel The valve helps blood flows in one direction
Inside the Heart
• There is a left and right side to our heart.
• Each side has two chambers at the top. Each chamber is called an atrium.
• Each side also has two chambers at the bottom. These chambers are called ventricles.
• The left side of the heart pumps blood to the body.
• This enables the water, nutrients and oxygen to be delivered to the parts of our bodies that need them.
• The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs.
• In the lungs, blood collects oxygen before returning to the heart to be pumped around the body by the
left side of the heart.

The History of the Heart

• The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the home of the soul.
• In ancient Rome, Greek surgeon Galen knew that blood was carried in veins and arteries.
• It wasn’t until 1628 that an English doctor called William Harvey discovered that blood circulated
through the body and that it was the heart that pumped it.
• South African doctor, Christiaan Barnard, performed the first human heart transplant in 1967.
• Today, surgeons know so much about how the heart works that they can transplant hearts from donors
to people who need a new heart to survive.

The Effect of Exercise on Our Pulse Rate

• If you exercise regularly you will strengthen your heart and lungs.
• This is important to make sure your circulatory system works well.
• When we exercise, our body needs more energy.
• Our body uses oxygen to release energy from our food, so when we exercise we need more oxygen to
do this. This is why our pulse rate increases.
• Our heart pumps blood more quickly to provide oxygen to our muscles.
• Our breathing rate also increases to take more oxygen into our body.
Food and Nutrition

• Diet is everything we eat.

• People sometimes think of a diet as something they do
to lose weight. We lose weight if we eat less than our
bodies need to do everything we need to do.
• Food keeps our bodies healthy, but it needs to be the right
sort of food, not just whatever we fancy.
• Food provides essential substances called nutrients.
• Our bodies need lots of different types of food. The
different tastes help us make sure we eat a variety of
foods.
• Eating different things gives our diet balance.

Food has Different Tastes

• The average person has between 2,000 and 8,000 taste buds but we all have different numbers.
This could help explain why we like different foods.
Taste of Food Representative Ingredients
Bitter coffee, dark chocolate, bitter melon, walnuts
Salty salt, soy sauce, salted egg, aged cheese
Sour lemon, lime, vinegar, yogurt,
Sweet sugar, honey, syrup, sweets
Umami/Savoury mushroom, meat, fish, tomatoes

Fruit and Vegetables

• We need lots of different vitamins and minerals for our bodies to stay healthy.
• The colour of the fruit and vegetables is linked to the vitamins and minerals they contain.
• Eating lots of differently coloured fruits and vegetables means we will get a range of different vitamins
and minerals.
Food for Energy, Growth and Repair
• We need protein to help us grow and repair our bodies.
• We need carbohydrates to give us energy.
• Some carbohydrate-rich foods taste very sweet. This is because they contain a lot of sugar.
• Fats can protect our organs and help us maintain a stable body temperature.

good carbohydrates good protein good fats and oils

Energy in Food
• We need food to keep us healthy but we also need food to give us energy.
• Energy in food is measured in calories. There is a recommended range for most kids between 6 and 12
years old: 1,600 to 2,200 per day, depending on how active they are.
• All foods contain energy but different types of foods contain different amounts.

Keeping Fit and Healthy

• Sleep is important for us to keep healthy. When we don’t get enough sleep, we might not be able to do
things the best we can. We may feel grumpy and not be able to concentrate.

Top Ways to Stay Fit and Healthy

• Get Enough Sleep.
• Eat a Balanced Diet.
• Exercise Daily.
• Drink More Water.
• Cleanse Your Body.
• Do Not Skip Meals.
Avoiding Things that can Harm Us
• Someone is obese when they are so overweight that it is likely to damage their health.
• To stay healthy some people not only need to eat the right sort of foods in the right quantities, but may
also need to take medicines. These are also known as drugs.
• A drug is a substance that causes our body to change.
• Medicines are drugs that are used to prevent or treat illness.
• Substances that cause our bodies to change that are not medicines can be very harmful.

Substances that can Harm Us

• Some adults say they need to drink coffee every day to help them feel alert and ready to work.
• This is because coffee contains caffeine.
• A popular drink for children is cola. This also contains caffeine.

The Dos and Don’ts of Staying Healthy

• People who do a lot of exercise often need to drink water to stay hydrated.
• Being hydrated means having enough water in our bodies to stay healthy and for our body systems to
work efficiently.
• We lose water as sweat and through our breath when we exercise so it is important to replace it.
• When we don’t have enough water and are thirsty we say we are dehydrated.