Basal Metabolic Rate

the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic (basal) life-sustaining function.

Calories

a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy.

Carbohydrates

Substances composed of long chains of oxygen , hydrogen , and carbon molecules . Sugar , starch, and cellulose are all carbohydrates. In the human body, carbohydrates play a major role in respiration ; in plants, they are important in photosynthesis .

Cholesterol

a sterol, C 27 H 46 O, that occurs in all animal tissues, especially in the brain, spinal cord, and adipose tissue, functioning chiefly as a protective agent in the skin and myelin sheaths of nerve cells, a detoxifier in the bloodstream, and as a precursor of many steroids: deposits of cholesterol form in certain pathological conditions, as gallstones and atherosclerotic plaques

Diabetes

Also called di·a·be·tes in·sip·i·dus [in-, sip, -i-d, uh, s]. increased urine production caused by inadequate secretion of vasopressin by the pituitary gland.

Dietary Fiber

food containing a high amount of such carbohydrates, as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Digestive system

the system by which ingested food is acted upon by physical and chemical means to provide the body with absorbable nutrients and to excrete waste products; in mammals the system includes the alimentary canal extending from the mouth to the anus, and the hormones and enzymes assisting in digestion.

Electrolytes

Physiology. any of certain inorganic compounds, mainly sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and bicarbonate, that dissociate in biological fluids into ions capable of conducting electrical currents and constituting a major force in controlling fluid balance within the body.

Fats

any of several white or yellowish greasy substances, forming the chief part of adipose tissue of animals and also occurring in plants, that when pure are colorless, odorless, and tasteless and are either solid or liquid esters of glycerol with fatty acids; fats are insoluble in water or cold alcohol but soluble in ether, chloroform, or benzene: used in the manufacture of soap, paints, and other protective coatings and in cooking.

Macronutrients

Nutrition. any of the nutritional components of the diet that are required in relatively large amounts: protein, carbohydrate, fat, and the macrominerals.

Metabolism

The chemical processes by which cells produce the substances and energy needed to sustain life. As part of metabolism, organic compounds are broken down to provide heat and energy in the process called catabolism . Simpler molecules are also used to build more complex compounds like proteins for growth and repair of tissues as part of anabolism

Micronutrients

an essential nutrient, as a trace mineral or vitamin, that is required by an organism in minute amounts.

Minerals

Nutrition. any of the inorganic elements, as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, or sodium, that are essential to the functioning of the human body and are obtained from foods.

Nutrients

nourishing; nourishing; providing nourishment or nutriment.

Protein

Any of a large class of complex organic chemical compounds that are essential for life. Proteins play a central role in biological processes and form the basis of living tissues. They consist of long chains of amino acids connected by peptide bonds and have distinct and varied three-dimensional structures, usually containing alpha helices and beta sheets as well as looping and folded chains. Enzymes, antibodies, and hemoglobin are examples of proteins.

Saturated Fat

a type of single-bond animal or vegetable fat, as that found in butter, meat, egg yolks, and coconut or palm oil, that in humans tends to increase cholesterol levels in the blood. Compare saturated ( def 3 ).

Trans Fat

A fat containing trans fatty acids.

Unsaturated Fat

A triglyceride fat containing at least one unsaturated fatty acid. Fats derived from plants are often unsaturated fats. Eating foods high in unsaturated fats can reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

Vitamins

any of a group of organic substances essential in small quantities to normal metabolism, found in minute amounts in natural foodstuffs or sometimes produced synthetically: deficiencies of vitamins produce specific disorders.

Water

a transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, H 2 O, freezing at 32°F or 0°C and boiling at 212°F or 100°C, that in a more or less impure state constitutes rain, oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.: it contains 11.188 percent hydrogen and 88.812 percent oxygen, by weight.