Chapter 2 Flashcards
Nutrition
The study of how your body uses the nutrients in the foods you eat.
Nutrient
A chemical substance in food that helps maintain the body.
Malnutrition
A lack of the right proportions of nutrients over an extended period.
Deficiency disease
An illness caused by the lack of a sufficient amount of a nutrient.
Dietary supplements
Purified nutrients that are manufactured or extracted from natural sources.
Photochemicals
Compounds from plants that are active in the human body. They are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, herbs, and spices. Researchers have found some of these compounds to have a preventive effect against such diseases as heart disease and cancer.
Fortified foods
Foods to which nutrients are added in amounts greater than what would naturally occur in the food.
Carbohydrates
The body’s main source of energy.
Glucose
A form of sugar carried in the bloodstream for energy used throughout the body.
Fiber
A form of complex carbohydrates from plants that humans cannot digest, does not provide energy.
Fat
An important energy source that belongs to the lipids group of compounds.
Fatty acids
Chemical chains that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
Hydrogenation
A process that adds hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fatty acids in liquid oils.
Trans fatty acids
Fatty acids with odd molecular shapes.
Cholesterol
A fat like substance found in every cell in the body.
Proteins
Chemical compounds that are found in every body cell.
Amino acids
Small units that make up proteins.
Vitamins
Complex organic substances needed in small amounts for normal growth, maintenance, and reproduction.
Fat-soluble vitamins
Vitamins that dissolve in fats.
Water-soluble vitamins
Vitamins that dissolve in water.
Night blindness
Reduced ability to see in dim light, caused by deficiency in vitamin A.
Rickets
A disease that contains symptoms that are crooked legs and misshapen breast bones, caused by deficiency in vitamin C.
Dietary antioxidant
A substance in foods that significantly reduces the harmful effects of oxygen on normal body functions.
Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM)
A disease that contains symptoms that include fatigue and weight loss, caused by a deficiency in protein.
Beriberi
A disease of the nervous system that begins with numbness in the feet and ankles, followed by cramping pains in the legs, it can lead to paralysis and potentially fatal heart disturbances, caused by a deficiency in thiamin.
Pellagra
A disease caused by a deficiency in niacin, symptoms include skin lesions and digestive problems, this can lead to mental disorders and, in serious cases, death.
Anemia
A deficiency in folate this reduces the number of red blood cells in the blood stream, which decreases the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. Symptoms include weakness and fatigue.
Macro minerals
Minerals needed in the diet in amount of 100 or more milligrams each day.
Trace elements
Minerals needed in less than 100 milligrams per day.
Osteoporosis
Caused by a deficiency of calcium, symptoms include porous and brittle bones.
Hypertension
Caused by too much sodium in a diet which results in high blood pressure.
Scurvy
A disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, symptoms include weakness, bleeding gums, tooth loss and internal bleeding.
Goiter
Visible enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Digestion
The bodily process of breaking down food to simpler compounds the body can use.
Absorption
The process of taking in nutrients and making them part of the body.
Peristalsis
The process of muscles pushing through the digestive track.
Saliva
A mucus and enzyme containing liquid by the mouth. It moistens food particles helping them move down the esophagus into the stomach.
Metabolism
The chemical process that takes place in the cells after the body absorbs nutrients.
Mineral
An inorganic substance that makes up 4% of your body weight. Minerals become part of the bones, soft tissues and body fluids. They also help regulate body processes.
