Introduction to Nutrition & Nourishment in Human Health

These flashcards cover important concepts and vocabulary relating to nutrition, health, and dietary guidelines discussed in the lecture.

Nutrition

The process by which organisms obtain nutrients, metabolize them, and use them to support all of life's processes.

Dietetics

The health profession responsible for applying nutrition science to promote health and prevent and treat disease.

Malnutrition

A condition resulting from consuming too much or too little of a nutrient, which can interfere with health and well-being.

Nutritional Genomics

The science that studies the relationship between human genomes, nutrition, and health.

Nutrigenetics

A discipline that detects gene variants within an individual to identify nutritional factors that trigger dysfunction or disease.

Nutrigenomics

The study of the interaction between one’s diet and their genes.

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)

A set of nutrient-based reference values used for assessing and planning diets based on life stage and gender.

Food Insecurity

A lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Primary Prevention

Actions taken to prevent disease before it occurs.

Secondary Prevention

Actions taken to detect and treat disease early.

Tertiary Prevention

Actions taken to manage and reduce the impact of long-term disease.

Functional Foods

Foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.

Nutrient Density

A measure of the nutrients a food contains relative to the number of calories it provides.

Cholesterol-Free

A food that contains less than 2mg of cholesterol per serving.

Food Label

Required by law through the FDA to provide information about the nutritional content of food products.

Foodborne Illness

An illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food.

Food Additives

Substances added to food to enhance its flavor, shelf life, or characteristics.

Agar

A substance used as a food thickener derived from seaweed.

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors can change the way genes are turned on and off.

Nutrient

A substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life.

Health Claims

Statements made on food labels that describe a relationship between a food or its components and health.