Glossary - Vitamins and Nutrients A-G
Absorption: the process by which nutrients are passed into the bloodstream.
Acetate: a derivative of acetic acid.
Acetic acid: used as a synthetic flavouring agent, one of the first food additives (vinegar is approximately 4 to 6 percent acetic acid); it is found naturally in cheese, coffee, grapes, peaches, raspberries, and strawberries; Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) when used only in packaging.
Acetone: a colourless solvent for fat, oils, and waxes, which is obtained by fermentation (inhalation can irritate lungs, and large amounts have a narcotic effect).
Acid: a water-soluble substance with sour taste.
Adrenals: the glands, located above each kidney, that manufacture adrenaline.
Alkali: an acid-neutralizing substance (sodium bicarbonate is an alkali used for excess acidity in foods).
Allergen: a substance that causes an allergy.
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Amino acid chelates: chelated minerals that have been produced by many of the same processes nature uses to chelate minerals in the body; in the digestive tract, nature surrounds the elemental minerals with amino acid, permitting them to be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Amino acids: the organic compounds from which proteins are constructed; there are twenty-two known amino acids, but only nine are indispensable nutrients for man - histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, total S-containing amino acids, total aromatic amino acids, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
Anorexia: loss of appetite.
Antibiotic: any of various substances that are effective in inhibiting or destroying bacteria.
Anticoagulant: something that delays or prevents blood-clotting.
Antigen: any substance not normally present in the body that stimulates the body to produce antibodies.
Antihistamine: a drug used to reduce effects associated with histamine production in allergies and colds.
Antioxidant: a substance that can protect another substance from oxidation; added to foods to keep oxygen from changing the food's colour.
Antitoxin: an antibody formed in response to, and capable of neutralizing, a poison of biologic origin.
Assimilation: the process whereby nutrients are used by the body and changed into living tissue.
Ataxia: loss of coordinated movement caused by disease of nervous system.
ATP: a molecule called adrenosine triphosphate, the fuel of life, a nucleotide - building block of nucleic acid - that produces biological energy with Bl, B2, B3, and pathothenic acid.
Avidin: a protein in egg white capable of inactivating biotin.
Bariatrician: a weight-control doctor.
B-Cells: white blood cells, made in the bone marrow, which produce antibodies upon instructions from T-cells, white blood cells manufactured in the thymus.
BHA: butylated hydroxyanisole; a preservative and antioxidant used in many products; insoluble in water; can be toxic to the kidneys.
BHT: butylated hydroxytoluene; a solid, white crystalline anti-oxidant used to retard spoilage of many foods; can be more toxic to the kidney than its nearly identical chemical cousin BHA.
Bioflavonoids: usually from orange and lemon rinds, these citrus-flavoured compounds needed to maintain healthy blood-vessel walls are widely available in plants, citrus fruits, and rose hips; known as vitamin P complex.
Calciferol: a colourless, odourless crystalline material, insoluble in water; soluble in fats; a synthetic form of vitamin D made by irradiating ergosterol with ultraviolet light.
Calcium gluconate: an organic form of calcium.
Capillary: a minute blood vessel, one of many that connect the arteries and veins.
Carcinogen: a cancer-causing substance.
Carotene: an orange-yellow pigment occurring in many plants and capable of being converted into vitamin A in the body.
Casein: the protein in milk that has become the standard by which protein quality is measured.
Catabolism: the metabolic change of nutrients or complex substances into simpler compounds, accompanied by a release
of energy.
Catalyst: a substance that modifies, especially increases, the rate of chemical reaction without being consumed or changed in the process.
Chelation: a process by which mineral substances are changed into easily digestible form.
Chronic: of long duration; continuing; constant.
CNS: central nervous system.
Coenzyme: the major portion, though nonprotein, part of an enzyme; usually a B vitamin.
Collagen: the primary organic constituent of bone, cartilage, and connective tissue (becomes gelatin through boiling).
Congenital: condition existing at birth, not hereditary.
Dehydration: a condition resulting from an excessive loss of water from the body.
Dermatitis: an inflammation of the skin; a rash.
Desiccated: dried; preserved by removing moisture.
Dicalcium phosphate: a filler used in pills, which is derived from purified mineral rocks and is an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus.
Diluents: fillers; inert material added to tablets to increase their bulk in order to make them a practical size for compression.
Diuretic: tending to increase the flow of urine from the body.
DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid; the nucleic acid in chromosomes that is part of the chemical basis for hereditary characteristics.
Endogenous: being produced from within the body.
Enteric coated: a tablet coated so that it dissolves in the intestine, not in the stomach (which is acid).
Enuresis: bed-wetting.
Enzyme: a protein substance found in living cells that brings about chemical changes; necessary for digestion of food.
Excipient: any inert substance used as a dilutant or vehicle for a drug.
Exogenous: being derived or developed from external causes.
FDA: Food and Drug Administration.
Fibrin: an insoluble protein that forms the necessary fibrous network in the coagulation of blood.
Free-radicals: highly reactive chemical fragments that can produce an irritation of artery walls, start the arterio-sclerotic process if vitamin E is not present; generally harmful.
Fructose: a natural sugar occurring in fruits and honey; called fruit sugar; often used as a preservative for foodstuffs and an intravenous nutrient.
Galactosemia: a hereditary disorder in which milk becomes toxic as food.
Glucose: blood sugar; a product of the body's assimilation of carbohydrates and a major source of energy.
Glutamic acid: an amino acid present in all complete proteins; usually manufactured from vegetable protein; used as a salt substitute and a flavour-intensifying agent.
Glutamine: an amino acid that constitutes, with glucose, the major nourishment used by the nervous system.
Gluten: a mixture of two proteins - gliadin and glutenin -present in wheat, rye, oats, and barley.
Glycogen: the body's chief storage carbohydrate, primarily in the liver.
GRAS: Generally Recognized As Safe; a list established by Congress to cover substances added to food.
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