Human Nutrition: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering glycemic indices, carbohydrate stores, dietary sugars, exercise metabolism, essential fatty acids, and lipid classifications from Human Nutrition lecture notes.

Type II Diabetes

A condition characterized by insulin resistance; obesity is an associated factor rather than a confirmed direct cause, and excessive sugar intake does not directly hurt or ruin the pancreas.

Glycemic Index (GI)

A measurement scale that classifies foods by the speed at which they raise blood sugar compared to glucose or white bread, measured using $50\,g$ (or $25\,g$) portions.

GI Guidelines

Classification ranges for the glycemic index: Low ($0\text{--}33$), Medium ($33\text{--}66$), and High ($67\text{--}99$).

Net Carbs

The total amount of available carbohydrate in a food, calculated as total carbohydrates minus dietary fiber.

Glycemic Load (GL)

A measurement of blood sugar impact calculated as the glycemic index multiplied by the net carbs per serving divided by $100$ ($\frac{\text{GI}}{100} \times \text{Net Carbs}$).

GL Guidelines

Classification ranges for glycemic load: Low ($0\text{--}10$), Medium ($10\text{--}20$), and High ($20\text{--}30+$).

Millet

A hard seed and heirloom grain known before Christ; serves as a protein and carbohydrate source, used in mixed breads and prison soup/gruel, and mentioned in Ezekiel 4:9.

Heirloom Grain

Any grain variety that is historically known to have existed before Christ, such as millet.

Starch

A digestible plant polysaccharide consumed in the human diet for energy.

Glycogen

A storage polysaccharide found in animal liver and muscles; humans do not consume it from meat, and its watery structure makes it less resilient and more difficult to store than fat.

Bodily Carbohydrate Stores

In a typical young man, carbohydrates are stored as blood glucose ($5\,g = 20\,\text{cal}$), liver glycogen ($85\,g = 340\,\text{cal}$), and muscle glycogen ($350\,g = 1400\,\text{cal}$), with the majority held in muscles.

Empty Calories

The opposite of nutrient density; calories provided by foods such as refined sugar that deliver energy without providing any additional nutrients.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS-42)

An added processed sweetener composed of $42\%$ fructose and $53\%$ glucose; it is cheaper to manufacture and sell, and slightly sweeter than standard sugar.

Artificial Sweeteners

Non-caloric sugar substitutes that stimulate the brain's pleasure centers and appetite, potentially leading to weight gain similar to sugar because they fail to provide true caloric satiation.

Carbo Loading

An athletic dietary practice described as being more of a social ritual than an effective nutritional necessity.

Post-Exercise Carbohydrate Recovery

The practice of consuming carbohydrates as soon as possible after physical exercise to rapidly restore depleted glycogen stores.

Wheat Germ

The component of a wheat kernel that contains the least amount of carbohydrates.

Caloric Density of Fat

The energy value provided by dietary fat, equivalent to $9\,\text{cal/g}$.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid

An essential $\omega\text{-}3$ fatty acid found in fish, walnuts, flax, and chia seeds; converted by the body into EPA and DHA.

Gamma-Linoleic Acid

An essential $\omega\text{-}6$ fatty acid found in grains, seeds, corn, and soy; converted by the body into DGLA and AA.

Lipids

A category of simple and complex compounds that includes liquid oils and solid fats.

Three Major Kinds of Fats

The primary structural categories of dietary and bodily lipids: triglycerides, phospholipids, and sterols.

Triglycerides

Lipid molecules consisting of a glycerol backbone attached to three fatty acids; account for more than $95\%$ of all fat in food and the human body.

Phospholipids

Complex lipid compounds composed of a glycerol backbone bonded to fatty acids and a phosphate group.

Glycerol

A three-carbon compound with hydroxyl groups that serves as the backbone for triglycerides; not a fat itself, and commercially used as a skin softener, antifreeze, and sweetener in non-fat/low-fat foods.

Fatty Acids

Lipid chains possessing an acid (alpha, $\alpha$) end and a methyl (omega, $\omega$) end; they rarely circulate freely in the bloodstream outside of triglycerides.

Saturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid chain where every carbon atom is fully saturated with hydrogen atoms and contains no double bonds, such as stearic acid.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid molecule containing exactly one carbon-carbon double bond, such as oleic acid found in olive oil ($\omega\text{-}9$).

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid molecule featuring two or more carbon-carbon double bonds, such as omega-6 fatty acids, typically remaining liquid at room temperature.

Alpha ($\alpha$) End

The carboxylic acid end of a fatty acid molecule.

Omega ($\omega$) End

The methyl end of a fatty acid molecule, from which carbon positions are numbered for omega classifications.