Nutrition: Chapter 1- Vocabulary

The science of foods and the nutrients and other substances they contain, and of their actions within the body (including digestion, absorption, transport, metabolism, and excretion).

Products derived from plants or animals that can be taken into the body to yield energy and nutrients for the maintenance of life and the growth and repair of tissues.

The foods and beverages a person eats and drinks.

Disease progresses slowly or with little change and last a long time.

Develops quickly, produces sharp symptoms and runs a short course.

Foods that provide health benefits beyond their nutrient contributions. May include whole foods, fortified foods, and modified foods.

The capacity to do work. Chemical energy. Body can convert chemical energy to mechanical, electrical, or heat energy.

Chemical substances obtained from food and used in the body to provide energy, structural materials, and regulating agents to support growth, maintenance, and repair of the body’s tissues. Nutrients may also reduce the risks of some diseases.

Nonnutrient compounds found in plant-derived foods that have biological activity in the body.

Compounds in foods that do not fit within the six classes of nutrients.

Not containing carbon or pertaining to living things.

In chemistry, a substance or molecule containing carbon-carbon bonds or carbon-hydrogen bonds.

Carbohydrate, fat and protein required by the body in relatively large amounts.

Vitamins and minerals required in small amounts.

Nutrients a person must obtain from food because the body cannot make them for itself in sufficient quantity to meet physiological needs (Indispensable nutrients). About 40 nutrients are currently known to be essential.