Nutrition: Vitamins, Minerals, and Alcohol

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering trace minerals, major minerals, water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, and alcohol metabolism based on course lecture materials.

Trace Minerals

Inorganic elements required in the daily human diet in amounts of less than $20\,\text{mg}$ and present in the body in total quantities of less than $5\,\text{g}$.

Heme Iron

The iron form bound to hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochromes that is found exclusively in animal foods (meat, poultry, and fish) and is $2$ to $3$ times more bioavailable than nonheme iron.

Nonheme Iron

The elemental form of iron found predominantly in plant foods (grains, vegetables) and enriched products, constituting approximately $80\%$ of dietary iron consumed and $100\%$ of vegan diets.

Meat, Fish, and Poultry (MFP) Factor

A dietary factor present in animal tissue that enhances the intestinal absorption of nonheme iron consumed concurrently.

Ferritin

The primary intracellular iron-storage protein that safely sequesters excess iron in tissues to prevent free radical generation and toxicity.

Microcytic Anemia

An anemia characterized by small, pale red blood cells lacking adequate hemoglobin, most frequently caused by chronic iron deficiency or vitamin $B_6$ deficiency.

Macrocytic Anemia

An anemia characterized by fewer, abnormally enlarged red blood cells (macrocytes) containing sufficient hemoglobin, resulting from impaired cellular division due to folate or vitamin $B_{12}$ deficiency.

Zinc ($\text{Zn}^{2+}$)

An essential trace mineral concentrated in bone and muscle that functions as a cofactor for metalloenzymes, participates in DNA and RNA synthesis, supports wound healing, and forms a component of superoxide dismutase.

Selenosis

Toxicity caused by excessive selenium intake exceeding the Upper Limit of $400\,\mu\text{g/day}$, clinically manifested by brittle hair and nails, garlicky breath odor, skin rash, fatigue, and nervous system damage.

Goiter

An abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland resulting from primary iodine deficiency or high intake of goitrogens (compounds in cabbage, rutabagas, soybeans, and peanuts that block iodine uptake).

Cretinism

A severe congenital hypothyroidism disorder occurring in infants due to maternal iodine deficiency during pregnancy, characterized by irreversible intellectual impairment, dwarfism, and abnormal sexual development.

Major Minerals

Essential inorganic macrominerals required in amounts exceeding $100\,\text{mg/day}$ with a total body reservoir greater than $5\,\text{g}$, including calcium, sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulfur.

Bioavailability

The degree to which an ingested nutrient is released from food, absorbed across the digestive tract, and utilized for biological functions in the body.

Sodium ($\text{Na}^+$)

The principal extracellular cation responsible for fluid volume regulation, neuromuscular conduction, and blood pressure maintenance, with an adult Adequate Intake of $1,500\,\text{mg/day}$.

Potassium ($\text{K}^+$)

The major intracellular cation that maintains intracellular osmotic pressure, regulates cellular pH, transmits nerve impulses, and blunts sodium-induced hypertension, with an Adequate Intake of $4,700\,\text{mg/day}$.

DASH Diet

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; an evidence-based dietary pattern high in potassium, magnesium, and calcium (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy) and low in sodium, added sugars, and saturated fat.

Cortical Bone

The dense, compact outer mineralized shell of bone that supplies structural strength and forms bone surfaces.

Trabecular Bone

The spongy, lattice-like internal matrix of bone that has a high turnover rate and exhibits high metabolic sensitivity to alterations in dietary calcium availability.

Osteoporosis

A progressive metabolic bone disease characterized by diminished bone mineral density and porous microarchitecture, markedly increasing fracture vulnerability.

Hyperkalemia

An abnormally elevated serum potassium concentration that disrupts cardiac electrophysiology, potentially resulting in fatal cardiac arrhythmias or heart damage, typically caused by supplements or renal failure.

Magnesium ($\text{Mg}^{2+}$)

A major mineral concentrated in bone ($60\%$) and muscle ($25\%$) serving as an indispensable cofactor in over $300$ enzymatic reactions, ATP stabilization, and DNA/RNA/protein synthesis.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Nine essential organic micronutrients (vitamin C and eight B vitamins) that are absorbed directly into the blood, require regular daily consumption, and are generally excreted in urine rather than stored.

Thiamin (Vitamin $B_1$)

A water-soluble B vitamin serving as a coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism, branched-chain amino acid degradation, and neurotransmitter signaling.

Beriberi

The classic thiamin deficiency disease presenting with anorexia, peripheral neuropathy, loss of muscle function, and profound cardiovascular or neurological deficits.

Pellagra

A severe nutritional deficiency syndrome caused by lack of dietary niacin (vitamin $B_3$) and tryptophan, characterized by the four Ds: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death.

Spina Bifida

A severe congenital neural tube defect resulting from failure of the embryonic spinal column to close completely, preventable by adequate peri-conceptional maternal folate intake.

Intrinsic Factor (IF)

A gastric glycoprotein produced by parietal cells that binds dietary vitamin $B_{12}$ in the small intestine, enabling receptor-mediated absorption in the ileum.

Pernicious Anemia

An autoimmune macrocytic anemia driven by destruction of gastric parietal cells and loss of intrinsic factor, preventing vitamin $B_{12}$ absorption and producing neurological impairment.

Scurvy

The classic vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency disease manifested by failure of collagen synthesis, bleeding gums, perifollicular pinpoint hemorrhages, and poor wound healing.

Biotin

A water-soluble B vitamin functioning as a coenzyme in fat synthesis, glycogenesis, and amino acid metabolism, also synthesized by intestinal microflora.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

A group of four hydrophobic vitamins (A, D, E, and K) that require dietary lipids and bile for micellar absorption into the lymphatic system and are stored in adipose tissue and the liver.

Free Radicals

Highly reactive, unstable molecular fragments possessing an unpaired electron that damage cell membranes, DNA, and structural proteins via oxidation.

Antioxidants

Nutrient and phytochemical compounds (such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium) that stabilize free radicals by donating electrons, terminating damaging oxidation chain reactions.

Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE)

A standard unit of measure accounting for the differing bioactivities and bioconversion efficiencies of preformed vitamin A and provitamin A carotenoids.

Xerophthalmia

Severe dryness and permanent scarring of the cornea and conjunctiva resulting from prolonged vitamin A deficiency, constituting a leading preventable cause of pediatric blindness.

Rickets

A pediatric bone-softening disorder caused by vitamin D deficiency that disrupts calcium-phosphorus crystallization, leading to epiphyseal enlargement and bowed legs.

Osteomalacia

The adult equivalent of rickets caused by vitamin D deficiency, characterized by incomplete bone demineralization, bone pain, and muscle weakness.

Alpha-Tocopherol

The most biologically active chemical form of vitamin E in humans, which functions as an antioxidant embedded within lipid membranes to protect polyunsaturated fatty acids from peroxidation.

Vitamin K

A fat-soluble vitamin essential for post-translational carboxylation of glutamic acid residues, enabling blood coagulation factor synthesis and bone matrix mineralization via osteocalcin.

USP Verified Mark

A quality seal issued by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention verifying that a supplement contains stated ingredients in declared potencies without toxic contaminants and disintegrates properly.

Ethanol

The chemical compound ($\text{C}_2\text{H}_5\text{OH}$) produced by yeast fermentation of carbohydrates, representing the ingestible psychoactive alcohol in beverages.

Fermentation

An anaerobic metabolic process wherein yeasts convert simple plant sugars (glucose, fructose, maltose) into ethanol and carbon dioxide, halting naturally at $11\%$ to $14\%$ alcohol content.

Distillation

The heating of a fermented alcohol mixture to vaporize and condense ethanol, concentrating it to formulate high-strength liquors and spirits.

Proof

A historical numerical scale measuring alcohol concentration in distilled liquor, defined as exactly twice the percentage of pure alcohol by volume (e.g., $80\text{ proof} = 40\%$ alcohol).

Standard Drink

A designated serving of alcoholic beverage delivering approximately $0.6\,\text{fl oz}$ of pure ethanol, defined as $12\,\text{oz}$ of regular beer, $5\,\text{oz}$ of table wine, or $1.5\,\text{oz}$ of $80\text{-proof}$ spirits.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH)

The key metabolic enzyme in the stomach mucosa and liver responsible for converting ethanol into acetaldehyde.

Microsomal Ethanol Oxidizing System (MEOS)

An inducible enzymatic pathway in the liver that assists in metabolizing alcohol and xenobiotics when blood alcohol concentrations rise beyond the clearance capacity of ADH.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

The measurement of circulating ethanol quantified in grams of alcohol per deciliter ($\text{g/dL}$) of blood, expressed as a percentage to determine legal and neurological intoxication.

Alcoholic Liver Disease Progression

The sequential degenerative path of chronic alcohol hepatotoxicity progressing from reversible fatty liver (steatosis) to alcoholic hepatitis and ultimately irreversible, fibrotic cirrhosis.

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

A debilitating neurological condition caused by chronic alcohol-induced thiamin malabsorption, presenting with ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, mental confusion, and severe memory deficits.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

The most debilitating outcome within fetal alcohol spectrum disorders caused by prenatal ethanol exposure, presenting with distinct craniofacial abnormalities, growth deficits, and permanent neurological impairments.