Nutrition Basics and Digestive System Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from the nutrition basics and digestion lecture notes.

Science of Nutrition

The study of how food and nutrients affect the body's growth, maintenance, health, and disease.

Phytochemical

A naturally occurring chemical in plants that may provide health benefits.

Minerals

Inorganic elements needed by the body that cannot be made by the body and cannot be destroyed by cooking.

list the characterisitcs of vitamins

Organic compounds needed in small amounts for normal body functions.

Macronutrients

Nutrients required in large amounts by the body, consisting of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and water.

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)

A group of nutrient reference values used to plan and assess nutrient intakes, including EAR, RDA, AI, and UL.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)

The average daily amount of a nutrient that meets the nutrient needs of nearly all healthy people in a group.

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

The highest average daily intake level of a nutrient that is unlikely to cause harm.

Adequate Intake (AI)

A nutrient intake value used when there is not enough evidence to establish an RDA.

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)

The daily intake value of a nutrient that meets the needs of about $50\%$ of healthy people in a group.

Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR)

The ranges of intake for energy-yielding nutrients: Carbohydrates $45-65\%$, Fat $20-35\%$, and Protein $10-35\%$.

Essential Nutrient

A nutrient the body cannot make in sufficient amounts, requiring it to come from the diet.

Nonessential Nutrient

A nutrient that the body can synthesize in sufficient amounts.

Nutrient-Dense Food

A food that provides a large amount of nutrients relative to its calorie content.

Calorically Dense Food

A food that provides a large number of calories relative to its amount or weight.

Organic Compound

A compound containing carbon, generally with carbon-hydrogen bonds.

Inorganic Compound

A compound that generally does not contain carbon-hydrogen bonds, such as water and minerals.

Energy Density of Carbohydrates

Provides $4\,kcal/g$.

Energy Density of Protein

Provides $4\,kcal/g$.

Energy Density of Fat

Provides $9\,kcal/g$.

Energy Density of Alcohol

Provides $7\,kcal/g$ (provides calories, but is not a nutrient).

Health Claim

A claim on a food label describing a relationship between a food or nutrient and a disease or health condition.

Calorie Free

A nutritional claim meaning a food generally contains fewer than $5\,calories$ per serving.

Active Transport

Movement across a membrane that requires energy and can move substances against their concentration gradient.

Facilitated Diffusion

Movement from high to low concentration through a transport protein without requiring energy.

Osmosis

Movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane.

Diffusion

Movement of substances from high concentration to low concentration without energy.

Endocytosis

A cellular process where the cell takes material into itself by engulfing it with its membrane.

Cholecystokinin (CCK)

A hormone that stimulates the pancreas to release digestive enzymes, triggers the gallbladder to release bile, and slows stomach emptying.

Gastric Inhibitory Peptide (GIP)

A hormone that decreases stomach activity and stimulates insulin release when nutrients are present.

Gastrin

A hormone that stimulates stomach activity and hydrochloric acid (HCl) production.

Secretin

A hormone that stimulates bicarbonate release from the pancreas to help neutralize stomach acid.

Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)

Acid produced in the stomach that helps denature proteins, activate pepsin, and kill microorganisms.

define chyme

A semiliquid mixture of partially digested food and digestive juices that forms in the stomach.

Epiglottis

A flap that helps prevent food from entering the airway during swallowing.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic muscular contractions that move food through the gastrointestinal tract.

Sphincters

Muscular structures that open and close to regulate the movement of food between sections of the digestive tract.

Villi

Finger-like projections in the small intestine that increase surface area for absorption.

Microvilli

Tiny projections on intestinal cells that further increase surface area for absorption.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

A digestive condition involving the repeated flow of stomach contents back into the esophagus.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)

A bacterium that infects the stomach lining and can cause gastritis and peptic ulcers.

Chemical Digestion

The breakdown of food molecules using enzymes and other chemicals.

Mechanical Digestion

Physically breaking food into smaller pieces without changing its chemical structure.

Bile

A fluid made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder that emulsifies fat, breaking large fat droplets into smaller ones.

Hyperglycemia

Abnormally high blood glucose concentration.

Hypoglycemia

Abnormally low blood glucose concentration.

Insulin

A hormone that lowers blood glucose levels.

Glucagon

A hormone that raises blood glucose levels.

Sugar Alcohols

Carbohydrate-based sweeteners that are incompletely absorbed, such as sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, and maltitol.

Lactose Intolerance

A digestive condition caused by not producing enough lactase, the enzyme required to digest lactose.

Type 1 Diabetes

A condition in which the body produces little or no insulin because insulin-producing pancreatic cells are destroyed.

Type 2 Diabetes

A condition involving insulin resistance and eventually inadequate insulin production.

Gestational Diabetes

A form of diabetes first diagnosed during pregnancy.

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

An inherited disorder in which the body cannot properly metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine.

Glucose

The body's main blood sugar and the brain's primary energy source under normal conditions.

Fructose

A simple sugar commonly found in fruits.

Lactose

The disaccharide sugar naturally found in milk and dairy products.

Sucrose

A disaccharide commonly known as table sugar.

Glycogen

The body's storage form of carbohydrate, stored primarily in the liver and skeletal muscle.