Key Terms
Absorption
The process in which blood or lymph capillaries pick up the digested nutrients.
Bland diet
Consists of easily digested foods that do not irritate the digestive tract.
Calorie controlled diets
Includes both low calorie and high calorie diets.
Diabetic diet
Used for patients with diabetes mellitus.
Fiber diets
Usually classified as high fiber or low fiber.
Anorexia nervosa
A physiological disorder in which a person drastically reduces food intake or refuses to eat at all.
Body mass index
A calculation that measures weight in relation to height.
Carbohydrates
The major source of readily usable human energy.
Digestion
The process by which the body breaks down food into smaller parts, changes the food chemically, and moves the food through the digestive system.
Hypertension
High blood pressure.
Antioxidants
Organic molecules that help protect the body from harmful chemicals called free radicals.
Bulimiarexia
A physiological disorder in which a person alternaly binges and then induces vomiting or uses laxatives to get rid of food that has been eating.
Cellulose
The fibrous, indigestible form of plant carbohydrates.
Essential nutrients
Composed of chemical elements found in food.
Lipids
Commonly called fat and oils are organic compounds.
Atherosclerosis
A condition in which arteries are narrowed by the accumulation of fatty substances.
Bulimia
A physiological disorder in which a person alternately binges and then fasts, or refuses to eat at all; in some cases a person will excessively exercise after binging.
Cholesterol
A sterol lipid found in the body cells and animal products.
Fat
An organic compound.
liquid diets
Includes both clear liquids and full liquids.
Basal metabolic rate
The rate and which the body uses energy just for maintaining its own tissue without doing any voluntary work.
Calorie
The amount of heat produced during metabolism is the way the energy content of food is measured.
Diabetes mellitus
A metabolic disease caused by an insufficient secretion or use of insulin leading to an increased level of glucose in the blood.
Regular diets
A balanced diet usually used for the patient with no dietary restrictions.
Low cholesterol diet
Usually limits fats to less than 50 grams daily.