Fit Living Dictionary

Minerals - the micronutrients (nutrients the body needs only in minute qualities) that are essential to regulate normal body functions. As opposed to other nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), these micronutrients do not provide energy to the body. In the area of nutrition, minerals are classified into two categories: macrominerals (also referred to as `bulk minerals` or `minerals`) and micro minerals (also referred to as `trace minerals`). The body`s requirement for macrominerals is at least 100 mg every day. Trace elements are needed in smaller amounts, although this does not mean they are less important. Minerals such as calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur are macrominerals. Micro minerals include zinc, iron, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium, fluorine, and iodine.


Rhomboids - the muscle set that pulls the shoulder blades toward the spine. They are connected to the vertebrae at the base of the neck and go in a diagonal slant to the inside rims of the scapulae.


IPM (Integrated Pest Management) - the an environment-friendly deployment of variegated techniques for effective pest control, which include mechanical, chemical, biological, cultural, techniques, to control unacceptable levels of pest damage by using the most affordable methods, and with minimal peril to the ecology, as well as to people and property.


Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - a U.S government agency, composed of eleven centers, institutes and offices, that aims to promote physical fitness and improve standards of living by taking measures to prevent and control disease, physical injury and physical disability.


Adipose Tissue - a distinctive sort of tissue in the human body that stores fat and also acts an insulating layer.


Clinical Trials - research tests that conduct evaluative analyses on human subjects. Trials might attempt to deduce whether the results of basic research have relevance to humans, or to confirm the discoveries of epidemiological studies. Research studies could be small, with just a few test subjects, or they may be large experimental studies on treatment that seek to discover the result of treatments on whole sets of populations. The most conclusive and authoritative clinical trials are double-blind, placebo-controlled research studies, which employ random assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups, unknown to the subject or the researcher.


Diabetes Insipidus - a disease of the pituitary gland or kidney, but not diabetes mellitus. So-called because most diabetics who have this disease display several of the same symptoms as people who have diabetes mellitus: they have to urinate often, get very thirsty and hungry, and feel weak.


Adipocytes - fat cells. An elaborate term used by scientists rather than simple English. Has twice as many syllables as `fat cells`.


Palatable - acceptable or agreeable to taste.


Subcutaneous - between the skin and the muscle (covered in a fascia) or bone (covered in periosteum).


Casein - the primary protein present in milk from cows, which breaks up into solids in the presence of acid.


Natural Toxins - a natural substance (for instance, produced in some cases by disease-causing microorganisms), which is poisonous to some other animate organisms.


Rennet - a substance used in the making of cheese. Rennet is derived from the lining of calves` stomachs. New genetic engineering techniques have enabled the removal of the precise gene that produces rennet and have replicated it in bacterial species. This procedure allows the production of rennet by means of a fermentation technique, eliminating the need for rennet extracts from calves` stomachs.


Organic - in crop cultivation, describes farm products, which are cultivated using biological, cultural, and mechanical methods before using artificial, non-agricultural agents to control pests, enhance soil quality and / or improve processing. The US Department of Agriculture is presently addressing the issue of organic produce, and has formal regulations to determine what products may be considered organic.


Sulphoraphane - an active ingredient of cruciferous vegetables (such as cabbage, bok choy, collards), which yields the health advantages of neutralizing free radicals that cause cell damage and perhaps lowering the chances of cancer.


Trans Fats - fats that are manufactured by hydrogenation. Hydrogenation, developed in the early 20th century, is the process of adding molecules of hydrogen directly to unsaturated fats such as those found in vegetable oil. Hydrogenated vegetable oils provide important attributes of stability and texture to food products. The spreadability and firmness of margarines, lightness in the layers of pie crust, creaminess of puddings, and crispy coating of French fries are characteristics supplied by hydrogenated oil ingredients. In the process of partial hydrogenation, some hydrogen atoms are transferred from same-side bonding in a double bond to the opposite side, forming another pattern of fatty acids, referred to as `trans`, which means `opposite`. The trans fat content of partially hydrogenated oils might vary widely, depending on the degree of hydrogenation employed and the amount used for that particular hydrogenated product. For instance, the amount of trans fat in a product containing lightly hydrogenated vegetable oils that is listed low in the list of ingredients could make very little difference to the nutrition value. When oil is shown in the listed ingredients as `hydrogenated`, this denotes that the oil has been totally hydrogenated, which is to say, it has been totally saturated with hydrogen molecules, a process that creates a saturated fatty acid which contains no trans fats. Trans fats occur naturally in dairy products and meats such as lamb and beef. Even so, the major trans fat sources in the American diet are partly hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are present in food items like cookies, crackers, pastries, and fried foods. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS)` Institute of Medicine (IOM) lately determined that trans fatty acids are similar to saturated fats (from animal sources) and foods that contain cholesterol in terms of their effect on low-density lipoprotein (LDL or `bad cholesterol`) levels in the blood. Moreover, a number of research studies propose that a larger intake of trans fatty acids may decrease high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The mean average trans fat intake within the U.S.A. is 2.6% of calories, in comparison to 12 percent of total calories consumed from saturated fat.


Cardiovascular Disease - a generic term to describe any disease that involves the heart and/or blood vessels.


Reference Daily Intakes (RDI) - dietary reference values that are used on all current US Nutrition Facts labels for protein, vitamins, and minerals, on the basis of nutrient values that best represent the minimum needs of the general population.