LEWISTON – A mad scientist in his “cola-laboratory” announced he would show Montello Elementary School students how much sugar they get in a bottle of soda.

Students counted as “FoodPlay” performer “Tobe Fit” (aka Jordan Wishner) dumped out 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Soft drinks have other unhealthy ingredients and chemicals: coloring, caffeine and phosphoric acid. “It’s this stuff, along with the sugar, that eats away our teeth and can cause cavities. It can also steal calcium from our bones, making them weak,” Tobe said.

He said diet soda is no better because it has some of the same ingredients, plus artificial sweeteners that aren’t safe for some kids.

The skit was part of a performance by “FoodPlay, ” an Emmy Award-winning show that tours schools to make nutrition and health come alive.

Come alive it did.

During the 45-minute performance, sponsored by Hannaford supermarkets, two actors used humor, juggling, and bouncy role-playing to get across the message that regular exercise and what people eat make huge differences in how strong, beautiful and healthy they are.

Tobe noted that the average American child drinks 600 cans of soda a year. “That’s polluting your body with chemicals,” he told the children.

A soda once in a while is OK, he said, but “water is your body’s favorite.” As he talked about the health effects of water, he jumped off the stage, ran around and squirted the students, who squealed with delight. “Eight glasses of water a day is all you need,” he yelled.

In another part of the performance, three students participated in a “Pyramid Power” game show. They had to answer questions, such as: To be healthy, how many fruits and vegetables should we eat a day?

Five, correctly answered third-grader Jessica Roy.

Another question was: Each of the following products is advertised as having “wholesome fruit,” but only one has nothing but fruit in it. Is it a fruit pie, “Fun Fruits,” raisins or a Fruit Roll-Up?

Fourth-grader Marcus Holland correctly answered raisins.

And: You go to the store to buy a snack. You’ve narrowed your choices to two. You read the ingredients label. Snack No. 1 has sugar, flour, eggs and oil. Snack No. 2 has flour, eggs, sugar and oil. Which is better for you?

Fourth-grader Nasteho Mohamed correctly answered No. 2.

“She’s absolutely right!” Tobe yelled out. “Flour is listed first, which makes flour the main ingredient, which is better for you than sugar.”

After the show, Marcus Holland said he wasn’t going to drink as much soda.

Jessica Roy said she was going to eat less candy, and she’s going to watch her parents. “My mom usually buys chips for my dad. Next time we go grocery shopping I’ll say, ‘Mom, put that back.'”

Marcus said he’ll tell his mother to stop buying so much soda. “She’s a soda freak.” He’ll recommend she drink more juice.