Diarrhea : Unusually frequent or unusually liquid stools
Digestive system: The organs that are responsible for getting food into and out of the body
Endocrinology: The study of hormones and their receptors
Ephedra: A medicinal herb that acts as a stimulant
Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community
Fat: Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients
FDA: The Food and Drug Administration allows new drugs on the market.
Gastric: Having to do with the stomach
Genes: The basic biological units of heredity
Glucose: Sugar that the body uses for energy
HDL: High density lipids or good fat
Heart: The muscle that pumps blood
Heart attack: Injury to the heart muscle
Hypertension : High blood pressure
Hypothyroid: Not enough thyroid hormone is produced by the thyroid gland: Gland that produces thyroid hormone
Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart
Herbal: Referring to herbs
Hormone: A chemical signal that takes a signal from one cell to another
Hydrogenation : Converts unsaturated fatty acids to saturated ones by adding hydrogen.
Immune System: The body's defense system
Insulin: Hormone that allows the liver and muscle to take up glucose
Intestine: The long, tube-like organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion. It consists of the small and large intestines
Jenny Craig: Jenny Craig is a diet program
Kidneys: A pair of organs that filters the blood of poisons
Medication: A drug or medicine
Metabolism: A process by which the body gets the energy it needs from food
Monounsaturated Fats: Fat that remains liquid at room temperature like olive oil
Monounsaturated fat: Lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and increase HDL cholesterol(good)
Nutrition: The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods
Overweight: Weighing too much
Obese: Well above ones normal weight
Obesity: Severly overweight
Omega-3 fatty acids: Polyunsaturated fat found mostly in fish and seafood.
Organ: Collection of specialized cells
Overweight: More than normal weight
Pancreas: Organ that secretes insulin
Prevention: To stop something happening
Phen-Fen: A once-popular diet-drug that had bad side effects and is no longer used.
Pharmacy: A place where prescription drugs are sold
Polyunsaturated: Liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator like vegetable oils.
Prader-Willi Syndrome: A syndrome where there is excessive mental retardation leading to severe obesity
Prescription: A physician's order for a drug
Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs
Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease.
Saturated Fat: Solid or waxy at room temperature, raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL)usually in animal products
Signs: Problems that are seen (like bruising)
Strokes: Injury to the brain caused by bleeding or blockage
Symptoms: The complaints a patient has but are not seen
Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms
Transplant: Recieving an new organ or tissue to replace one that does not work
Trans fat: Another name for trans fatty acid
Trans fatty acid: Made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil so it is less likely to go bad(rancid). Increases risk of heart disease.
Therapy: The treatment of disease
Tissue: A group of cells that perform a specific task
Veins: Carries blood to the heart
Underweight : Less than normal weight
Weight Watchers: Diet plan that counts point and you attend meetings
- "Transfat." Wikipedia. 1 Mar. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat>.
- "Obesity Glossary of Medical Terms." Emedicine Health. 30 Dec. 2005. 1 Mar. 2008 <http://www.emedicinehealth.com/obesity/glossary_em.htm>.
