An interpretation of less-known words and concepts

Amino acids
Organic compounds that contain an amino group. Twenty amino acids are the subunits which are joined together to form proteins.

Anticarcinogens
Compounds which have a potential anti-cancer role.

Carbohydrates
A vital energy source, come in two forms: simple, fast-absorbed as in sugar, honey and most refined foods, and complex slowly-absorbed as in whole grains, legumes, vegetables and some fruits.
Carbohydrates can also be categorised as
1. monosaccharides
2. di- and oligosaccharides
3. polysaccharides – starch and fibres

Cardiovascular
Pertaining to the heart and blood vessels.

Cholesterol
The body manufactures the cholesterol we need. It is carried in our blood in two forms – LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol) and HDL (High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol).
LDL is the ‘bad’ cholesterol as it forms deposits in the artery walls, causing gradual narrowing of the arteries such as the coronary or heart arteries.
HDL is the ‘good’ cholesterol which is removed from the arteries and therefore unblocks them.

Chronic diseases of lifestyle
A poor quality of lifestyle – including smoking, excessive intake of alcohol, lack of regular exercise, incorrect diet – which may cause serious diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, cancer and obesity.

Colonic microbiotica
Refers to the micro organisms or bacteria that dwell in the colon or large bowel.

Daidzein
Isoflavone in soybean

Diabetes mellitus
A disease which is characterised by a high level of sugar or glucose in the blood, and commonly also by the passage of excessive volumes of urine containing glucose.

Dietary fibre
Composed of material that is not normally digested by the digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal system. There are two groups – soluble and insoluble fibre.

Functional Foods
Any substance that may be considered a food or part of a food which, in addition to its normal nutritive value, provides health benefits including the potential to prevent diseases.

Genistein
Isoflavone in soybean.

Glycaemic index
Pertaining to the level of sugar in the blood.

Hormone replacement therapy
The replacement of the ovarian hormones lost during and after menopause.

Hypertension
A common disorder in which blood pressure remains abnormally high.

Hypocholesterolaemic
That which lowers elevated blood cholesterol.

Isoflavone
A phyto-oestrogen. Isoflavones have a very limited distribution in nature. Soybeans and soyfoods contain between 1 and 3mg of isoflavones per gram.

Kidney
Either one of a pair of organs at the back of the abdomen, functioning to maintain proper water and electrolyte balance, regulate acid-base concentration, and filter the blood of metabolic wastes, which are then excreted in the urine.

Legumes
The large family of plants (leguminosae) including many edible plants. Most species harbour nitrogen-fixing bacteria on their roots.

Lignans
Phyto-oestrogens, found in flaxseeds, wheat bran and other whole grains, that may reduce the risk of hormone-linked cancer.

Malnutrition
Poor nutrition because of an insufficient or poorly balanced diet or faulty digestion of food or decreased absorption of nutrients from food.

Modulation
The act or process of regulating.

Nutrient
A source of nourishment, especially a nourishing ingredient in a food.

Oestrogen
Secreted by the ovary and responsible for typical female sexual characteristics and many other functions including maintenance of bone structure.

Oligosaccharides
Carbohydrates that consist of a chain of a relatively small number of simple sugars or monosaccharides.

Osteoporosis
Abnormal loss of bony tissue resulting in fragile porous bones, which are prone to facture, common in postmenopausal women.

Pathogenic
Causing disease

Phytic acid
Inositol hexaphosphate, found in plant cells, especially in seeds is an important source of phosphorus. However, it binds with metals such as iron reducing their absorption from the intestine.

Phytochemicals
Chemicals found in plants e.g. phyto-oestrogens or plant oestrogens, which may be biologically active.

Prebiotics
The food components that escape digestion, reaching the large intestine where they may create conditions that promote the growth or activity of benevolent intestinal bacteria (often called microflora).

Probiotics
Also called microflora, are thought to improve the immune system.

Prostate
A small conical gland at the base of the male bladder and surrounding the first part of the urethra – the prostate gland.

Protein
Made out of nitrogen-containing molecules called amino acids. There are nine essential amino acids that the body cannot synthesise and have to be included in the diet. Proteins are essential for growth and many other functions.

Saponins
A type of glycoside, widely distributed in plants.

Saturated fat
A fat, most often of animal origin, whose fatty acid chains cannot incorporate additional hydrogen atoms. An excess of these fats in the diet could raise the cholesterol level in the bloodstream.

Trypsin inhibitor
Trypsin is an enzyme secreted in pancreatic juice which breaks down dietary protein in the intestine thereby enabling it to be absorbed. Trypsin inhibitor is a plant protein which inhibits this action of trypsin.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM)
A mild or moderate form of diabetes or raised blood glucose level that typically appears first in middle age or old age and is often related to obesity and an inactive lifestyle. This disease often has no symptoms, is usually diagnosed by blood tests that measure the blood glucose level. It is treated with changes in diet, an exercise regimen and if necessary by medication.

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