Nutrition

Nutrition

The science of the nutrients in foods and their actions within the body

Foods

Products derived from plants or animals that can be taken into the body to yield energy and nutrients for the maintenance of life and the growth and repair of tissues

Chronic Diseases

Diseases characterized by slow progression and long duration.

Ex. Heart disease and Diabetes

Diet

The foods and beverages a person eats and drinks

Ethnic Foods

Foods associated with particular cultural groups

Cultural Competence

Having an awareness and acceptance of cultures and the ability to interact effectively with people of diverse cultures

Functional Foods

Foods that contain bioactive components that provide health benefits beyond their nutrient contributions

Phytochemicals

Nonnutrient compounds found in plants. Some have biological activity in the body

Energy

The capacity to do work. The energy found in food is chemical energy - It can be converted into mechanical, electrical or heat energy

Nutrients

Chemical substances obtained from food and used in the body to provide energy, structural materials and regulating agents to support growth, maintenance, and repair of the body's tissues

Inorganic

Not containing carbon or pertaining to living things

Organic

In chemistry, a substance or molecule containing carbon-carbon bonds or carbon-hydrogen bonds

Essential Nutrients

Nutrients a person must obtain from food because the body cannot make them for itself in sufficient quantity to meet physiological needs

Energy-Yielding Nutrients

The nutrients that break down to yield energy the body can use

Calories

Units by which energy is measured

Energy Density

A measure of the energy a food provides relative to the weight of the food

Vitamins

Organic, essential nutrients required in small amounts by the body for health

Minerals

Inorganic elements. Some minerals are essential nutrients required in small amounts by the body for health

Genome

The complete set of genetic material (DNA) in an organism or a cell. The study of genomes is called genomics

Nutritional Genomics

The science of how nutrients affect the activities of genes (nutrigenomics) and how genes affect the interactions between diet and disease (nutrigenetics)

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)

A set of nutrient intake values for healthy people in the United States and Canada. These values are used for planning and assessing and include: EAR, RDA, AI and UL

Requirement

The lowest continuing intake of a nutrient that will maintain a specified criterion of adequacy

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)

The average daily amount of a nutrient that will maintain a specific biochemical or physiological function in half the healthy people of a given age and gender group

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)

The average daily amount of a nutrient considered adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy people, a goal for dietary intake by individuals

Deficient

Inadequate; a nutrient amount that fails to meet the body's needs and eventually results in deficiency symptoms

Adequate Intake (AI)

The average daily amount of a nutrient that appears sufficient to maintain a specified criterion; a value used as a guide for nutrient intake when an RDA cannot be determined

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

The maximum daily amount of a nutrient that appears safe for most healthy people and beyond which there is an increased risk of adverse health effects

Estimated Energy Requirement (EER)

The average dietary energy intake that maintains energy balance and good health in a person of a given age, gender, weight, height and level of physical activity

Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges

Ranges of intakes for the energy nutrients that provide adequate energy and nutrients and reduce the risk of chronic diseases

Malnutrition

Any condition caused by excess or deficient food energy or nutrient intake or by an imbalance of nutrients

Undernutrition

Deficient energy or nutrients

Overnutrition

Excess energy or nutrients

Nutrition Assessment

A comprehensive analysis of a person's nutrition status that uses health, socioeconomic, drug and diet histories; anthropometric measurements; physical examinations' and laboratory tests

Anthropometric

Relating to measurement of the physical characteristics of the body, such as height and weight

Overt

Out in the open and easy to observe

Primary Deficiency

A nutrient deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake of a nutrient

Secondary Deficiency

A nutrient deficiency caused by something other than an inadequate intake such as a disease condition or drug interaction that reduces absorption, accelerates use, hastens excretion, or destroys the nutrient

Subclinical deficiency

A deficiency in the early stages, before the outward signs have appeared

Covert

Hidden, as if under covers

Healthy People

A national public health initiative under the jurisdiction of the US department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that identifies the most significant preventable threats to health and focuses efforts toward eliminating them

Risk Factor

A condition or behavior associated with an elevated frequency of a disease but not probed to be causal

Eating Pattern

Customary intake of foods and beverages over time

Adequacy

Providing all the essential nutrients, fiber and energy in amounts sufficient to maintain health

Balance

Providing foods in proportion to one another and in proportion to the body's needs

kCalorie (Energy) Control

Management of food energy intake

Nutrient Density

A measure of the nutrients a food provides relative to the energy it provides. The more nutrients and the fewer kcalories, the higher the nutrient density

Nutrient-dense foods

Foods that deliver the most nutrients for the least food energy

Empty kCalorie Foods

A popular term used to denote foods that contribute energy but lack protein, vitamins and minerals

Nutrient Profiling

Ranking foods based on their nutrient composition

Moderation (Dietary)

Providing enough but not too much of a substance

Solid Fats

Fats that are not usually liquid at room temperature; commonly found in most foods derived from animals and vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated. Solid fats typically contain more saturated and trans fats than most oils

Added Sugars

Sugars and other kcaloric sweeteners that are added to foods during processing, preparation or at the table. Added sugars do not include the naturally occurring sugars found in fruits and milk products

Variety (Dietary)

Eating a wide selection of foods within and among the major food groups

Food Group Plans

Diet-Planning tools that sort foods into groups based on nutrient content and then specify that people should eat certain amounts of foods from each group

Legumes

Plants of the beans and pea family, with seeds that are rich in protein compared with other plant-derived foods

Discretionary kCalories

The kCalories remaining in a person's energy allowance after consuming enough nutrient-dense foods to meets all nutrient needs for a day

Serving Sizes

The standardized quantity of a food; such information allows comparisons when reading food labels and consistency when following the Dietary Guidelines

Portion Sizes

The quantity of a food served or eaten at one meal or snack; not a standard amount

Healthy Eating Index

A measure that assesses how well a diet meets the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Exchange Lists

Diet-planning tools that organize foods by their proportions of carbs, fat and protein. Foods on any single list can be used interchangeably

Processed Foods

Foods that have been treated to change their physical, chemical, microbiological or sensory properties

Fortified

The addition to a food of nutrients that were either not originally present or present in insignificant amounts. Fortification can be used to correct or prevent a widespread nutrient deficiency or to balance the total nutrient profile of a food

Refined

The process by which the coarse parts of a food are removed. When wheat is refined into flour, the bran, germ and husk are removed, leaving only the endosperm

Enriched

The addition to a food of specific nutrients to replace losses that occur during processing so that the food will meet a specified standard

Whole Grain

A grain that maintains the same relative proportions of starchy endosperm, germ and bran as the original (all but the husk); not refined

Textured Vegetable Protein

Processed soybean protein used in vegetarian products such as soy burgers

Imitation Foods

Foods that substitute for an d resemble another food, but are nutritionally inferior to it with respect to vitamin, mineral, or protein content. If the substitute is not inferior to the food it resembles and if its name provides an accurate description of the product, it need not be labeled "imitation"

Food Substitutes

Foods that are designed to replace other foods

Daily Values (DV)

Reference values developed by the FDA specifically for use on food labels

Percent Daily Value (%DV)

The percentage of a Daily Value recommendation found in a specified serving of food for key nutrients based on a 2000-kcalorie diet

Nutrient Claims

Statements that characterize the quantity of a nutrient in a food

Health Claims

Statements that characterize the relationship between a nutrient or other substance in a food or other substance in a food and a disease or health-related condition

Structure-Function Claims

Statements that characterize the relationships between a nutrient or other substance in a food and its role in the body

Digestion

The process by which food is broken down into absorbable units

Absorption

The uptake of nutrients by the cells of the small intestine for transport into either the blood or the lymph

Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract

The digestive tract. The principal organs are the stomach and intestines

Digestive System

All the organs and glans associated with the ingestion and digestion of food

Bolus

A portion' with respect to food, the amount swallowed at one time

Chyme

The semiliquid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum

Peristalsis

Wavelike muscular contraction of the GI tract that push its contents along

Segmentation

A periodic squeezing or portioning of the intestine at intervals along its length by its circular muscles

Reflux

A backward flow

Catalyst

A compound that facilitates chemical reactions without itself being changed in the process

pH

The unit of measure expressing a substance's acidity or alkalinity. The lower the pH, the higher the H+ ion concentration and the stronger the acid. A pH above 7 is alkaline, or base (a solution in which OH- ions predominate)

Stools

Waste matter discharged from the colon; also called feces

Villi

Fingerlike projections from the folds of the small intestine; singular villus

Microvilli

Tiny, hair like projections on each cell of every villus that can trap nutrient particles and transport them into the cells; singular microvillus

Crypts

Tubular glands that lie between the intestinal villi and secrete intestinal juices into the small intestine

Goblet Cells

Cells of the GI tract (and lungs) that secrete mucus

Aorta

The large, primary artery that conducts blood from the heart to the body's smaller arteries

Arteries

Vessels that carry blood from the heart to the tissues

Capillaries

Small vessels that branch from an artery. Capillaries connect arteries to veins. Exchange of oxygen, nutrients and wasted materials take place across capillary walls

Veins

Vessels that carry blood to the heart

Hepatic Portal Vein

The vein that collects blood from the GI tract and conducts it to the liver

Hepatic Vein

The vein that collects blood from the liver and returns it to the heart

Lymphatic System

A loosely organized system of vessels and ducts that convey fluids toward the heart. The GI part of the lymphatic system carries the products of fat digestion into the bloodstream

Lymph

A clear yellowish fluid that is similar to blood except that it contains no red blood cells or platelets. Lymph from the GI tract transports fat and fat-soluble vitamins to the bloodstream via lymphatic vessels

Thoracic Duct

The main lymphatic vessel that collects lymph and drains into the left subclavian vein

Subclavian Vein

The vein that provides passageway from the lymphatic system to the vascular system

Flora

Bacteria in the intestines