Nutrition Vocab Ch. 4

sucrose

a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose; sometimes known as table, beet, or cane sugar and, often, as simply sugar.

lactose

a disaccharide composed of glucose and galactose; sometimes known as milk sugar.

maltose

a disaccharide composed of two glucose units; sometimes known as malt sugar.

autoimmune disorder

a disease in which the body develops antibodies to its own proteins and then proceeds to destroy cells containing these proteins. examples are type 1 diabetes and lupus.

glycemic load

a mathematical expression of both the glycemic index and the carbohydrate content of a food, meal, or diet.

fructose

a monosaccharide sometimes known as fruit sugar.

starch

a plant polysaccharide composed of glucose. after cooking, ______ is highly digestible by human beings; raw _______ often resists digestion.

glucose

a single sugar used in both plant and animal tissues for energy; sometimes known as blood sugar or dextrose.

hugh-fructose corn syrup

a widely used commercial caloric sweetener made by adding enzymes to cornstarch to convert a portion of its glucose molecules into sweet-tasting fructose.

dental caries

decay of the teeth (_______ mens rottenness).

appendicitis

inflammation and/or infection of the appendix, a sac protruding from the intestine.

disaccharides

pairs of single sugars linked together.

fasting plasma glucose test

a blood test that measures current blood glucose in a person who has not eaten or consumed caloric beverages for at least 8 hours; the test can detect both diabetes and pre-diabetes. Plasma is the fluid part of whole blood.

HbA1c test

a blood test that measures hemoglobin molecules with glucose attached to them (hb stands for hemoglobin). the test reflects blood glucose control over the previous few months. also called glycosylated hemoglobin test or A1C test.

insulin resistance

a condition in which a normal or high level of circulating insulin produces a less than normal response in muscle, liver, and adipose tissues; thought to be a metabolic consequence of obesity.

glycogen

a highly branched polysaccharide that is made and stored by liver and muscle tissues of human beings and animals as a storage form of glucose. _______ is not a significant food source of carbohydrate and is not counted as one of the complex carbohydrates in food.

insulin

a hormone secreted by the pancreas in response to a high blood glucose concentration. it assists cells in drawing glucose from the blood.

glucagon

a hormone secreted by the pancreas that stimulates the liver to release glucose into the blood when blood glucose concentration dips.

galactose

a monosaccharide; part of the disaccharide lactose.

glycemic index

a ranking of foods according to their potential for raising blood glucose relative to a standard food such as glucose.

ketone bodies

acidic, water-soluble compounds that arise during the breakdown of fat when carbohydrate is not available.

hypoglycemia

an abnormally low blood glucose concentration, often accompanied by symptoms such as anxiety, rapid heartbeat, and sweating.

ketosis

an undesirable high concentration of ketone bodies, such as acetone, in the blood or urine.

polysaccharides

another term for complex carbohydrates; compounds composed of long strands of glucose units linked together. also called complex carbohydrates.

constipation

difficult, incomplete, or infrequent bowel movements associated with discomfort in passing dry, hardened feces from the body.

complex carbohydrates

long chains of sugar units arranged to form starch or fiber; also called polysaccharides.

diabetes

metabolic diseases characterized by elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin, which impair a person's ability to regulate blood glucose.

chelating agents

molecules that attract or bind with other molecules and are therefore useful in either preventing or promoting movement of substances from place to place.

diverticula

sacs or pouches that balloon out of the intestinal wall, caused by weakening of the muscle layers that encase the intestine. the painful inflammation of one or more of the ____________ is known as ______________.

sugars

simple carbohydrates; that is, molecules of either single sugar units or pairs of those sugar units bonded together. By common usage, ______ most often refers to sucrose.

monosaccharides

single sugar units.

granules

small grains. starch _________ are packages of starch molecules. various plant species make starch __________ of varying shapes.

nonnutritive sweeteners

sugar substitutes that provide negligible, if any, energy.

sugar alcohols

sugarlike compounds in the chemical family alcohol derived from fruits or manufactured from sugar dextrose or other carbohydrates; _______________ are absorbed more slowly than sugars, are metabolized differently, and do not elevate the risk of dental caries. also called polyols.

added sugars

sugars and syrups added to a food for any purpose, such as to add sweetness of bulk to aid in browning (baked goods). also called carbohydrate sweeteners, they include concentrated fruit juice, glucose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, and other sweet carbohydrates. also defined in chapter 2.

simple carbohydrates

sugars, including both units and linked pairs of sugar units. the basic sugar unit is a molecule containing six carbon atoms, together with oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

hemorrhoids

swollen, hardened (varicose) veins in the rectum, usually caused by the pressure resulting from constipation.

protein-sparing action

the action of carbohydrate and fat in providing energy that allows protein to be used for purposes it alone can serve.

fermentation

the anaerobic (without oxygen) breakdown of carbohydrates by microorganisms that releases small organic compounds along with carbon dioxide and energy

resistant starch

the fraction of starch in a food that is digested slowly, or not at all, by human enzymes.

chlorophyll

the green pigment of plants that captures energy from sunlight for use in photosynthesis.

fibers

the indigestible parts of plant food, largely nonstarchy polysaccharides that are not digested by human digestive enzyme, although some are digested by resident bacteria of the colon. Fibers include cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, gums, mucilages, and a few nonpolysaccharides such as lignin.

photosynthesis

the process by which green plants make carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using the green pigment chlorophyll to capture the suns energy.

insoluble fibers

the tough, fibrous structures of fruits, vegetable, and grains; indigestible food components that do not dissolve in water

type 2 diabetes

the type of diabetes in which the pancreas makes plenty of insulin but the body's cells resist insulin's action; often diagnosed in adulthood. formerly called adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

type 1 diabetes

the type of diabetes in which the pancreas produces no or very little insulin; often diagnosed in childhood, although some cases arise in adulthood. formerly called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes.

carbohydrates

compounds composed of single or multiple sugars. the name means "carbon and water,"

pre-diabetes

condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes; a major risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

soluble fibers

food components that readily dissolve in water and often impart gummy or gel-like characteristics to foods. An example is pectin from suit, which is used to thicken jellies

Whole grains

grains or foods made from them that contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed (except the inedible husk0.

viscous

having a sticky, gummy, or gel-like consistency that flows relatively slowly.

lactose intolerance

impaired ability to digest lactose due to reduced amounts of the enzyme lactase.

dialysis

in kidney disease, treatment of the blood to remove toxic substances or metabolic wastes; more properly hemo_______, meaning "________ of the blood."