Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary.


Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary.
"Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly." - Linus Pauling

Healthy Aging and Healthy Living Glossary

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Healthful Living Glossary

Adequacy of nutrient intake
Intake of a nutrient that meets the individual's requirement for that nutrient.

Amino acids
Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-nh2) and a carboxyl (-cooh) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerised to form proteins.

Amino group
An -NH2 group. Organic compounds which have this group are called amines.

Bovine growth hormone
A hormone secreted by the bovine pituitary gland. It is used to increase milk production by improving the feed efficiency in dairy cattle.

Calcium
The most abundant mineral in the body; found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids).

Dietary supplement
As defined by the U.S. Congress in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which became law in 1994, a dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet; contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other substances) or their constituents; is intended to be taken by mouth as a pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid; and is labeled on the front panel as being a dietary supplement.

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
the amount of a nutrient that is estimated to meet the requirement of half of all healthy individuals in the population.

Folate
A water-soluble B vitamin that is found in many foods.

Folic acid
The synthetic form of folate that is found in dietary supplements and added to enriched flour and grain products such as breads, pasta, rice, and cereals.

Growth factor
A complex family of polypeptide hormones or biological factors that are produced by the body to control growth, division and maturation of blood cells by the bone marrow. They regulate the division and proliferation of cells and influence the growth rate of some cancers. These factors occur naturally but some can be synthesised using molecular biology techniques and are used clinically to stimulate normal white cell production following chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. Examples include epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor. Insulin and somatomedin are also growth factors, the status of nerve growth factor is more uncertain. Perturbation of growth factor production or of the response to growth factor is important in neoplastic transformation.

Growth hormone
Polypeptide (191 amino acids) produced by anterior pituitary that stimulates liver to produce somatomedins 1 and 2.

Growth hormone regulating hormone
Hypothalamic hormones that induce (somatoliberin) or inhibit (somatostatin) the release of growth hormone (somatotropin).

Hagen, Tory M, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator and Jamieson Endowed Chair in Healthspan Research, Linus Pauling Institute. Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Oregon State University.

Hormone
A naturally occuring substance secreted by specialised cells that affects the metabolism or behaviour of other cells possessing functional receptors for the hormone. Hormones may be hydrophilic, like insulin, in which case the receptors are on the cell surface or lipophilic, like the steroids, where the receptor can be intracellular.

Human growth hormone
A protein produced in the pituitary gland that stimulates the liver to produce somatomedins, which stimulate growth of bone and muscle.

Inadequacy of nutrient intake
Intake of a nutrient that fails to meet the individual's requirement for that nutrient.

IGF - Insulin like Growth Factor
- Insulin like growth factors I and II are polypeptides with considerable sequence similarity to insulin.
- They are capable of eliciting the same biological responses, including mitogenesis in cell culture. On the cell surface, there are two types of insulin like growth factor receptor, one of which closely resembles the insulin receptor (which is also present).
- Insulin like growth factor I = somatomedin A = somatomedin C
- Insulin like growth factor II = MSA (Multiplication stimulating activity).
- Insulin like growth factor 1 is released from the liver in response to growth hormone.
- Acronym: IGF

Linus Pauling Institute
The institute at Oregon State University is dedicated to "Micronutrient Research for Optimum Health."

Pauling, Linus
Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 - August 19, 1994)] was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century. Pauling was among the first scientists to work in the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology.

Pauling is one of only four individuals to have won more than one Nobel Prize. He is one of only two people awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields (the Chemistry and Peace prizes), the other being Marie Curie (the Chemistry and Physics prizes), and the only person awarded two unshared prizes.

Micronutrient
A nutrient that is required by the body in small amounts, such as vitamins and/or a minerals.

Peptide
A compound of two or more amino acids where the alpha carboxyl group of one is bound to the alpha amino group of another.

phytochemicals
Biologically active, non-nutrient compounds synthesized by plants.

Precursor
- Something that precedes.
- 1. In biological processes, a substance from which another, usually more active or mature substance is formed.
- 2. In clinical medicine, a sign or symptom that heralds another.
- Origin: L. praecursor = a forerunner

Pituitary
An endocrine gland located at the base of the brain, in the small recess of a bone - certain sections of the pituitary each secretes important hormones including growth hormone (GH) and antidiuretic hormone (ADH).

Polypeptide
A peptide which on hydrolysis yields more than two amino acids, called tripeptides, tetrapeptides, etc. According to the number of amino acids contained.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)
the average daily dietary intake of a nutrient that is sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all (97-98%) healthy persons.

Somatotropin-releasing hormone
hypothalamic peptide that regulates the synthesis and secretion of somatotropin in the anterior pituitary gland. Chemical name: Somatoliberin

Secretagogue
Substance that induces secretion from cells, originally applied to peptides inducing gastric and pancreatic secretion.

Senescence
The state or process of aging; derived from the Latin word senex, meaing "old man" or "old age."

Smit, Ellen
Dr. Smit, associate professor at Oregon State University, is a nutritional epidemiologist. Her research is focused on diet, metabolism, and physical activity in relation to both chronic disease and HIV infection in diverse populations. Studies include cohort designs, multi-center studies, survey analysis of national databases, and linking of registry data sets.

Somatomedins
Insulin-like polypeptides made by the liver and some fibroblasts and released into the blood when stimulated by somatotropin. They cause sulfate incorporation into collagen, RNA, and DNA synthesis, which are prerequisites to cell division and growth of the organism.

Somatostatin
Gastrointestinal and hypothalmic peptide hormone (two forms: 14 and 28 residues), found in gastric mucosa, pancreatic islets, nerves of the gastrointestinal tract, in posterior pituitary and in the central nervous system. Inhibits gastric secretion and motility: in hypothalamus/pituitary inhibits somatotropin release.

Somatotrophin
growth hormone, somatotropin.

Somatotropin
Hormone (191 amino acids) released by anterior pituitary that stimulates release of somatomedin, thereby causing growth.

Somatropin
synthetic or naturally occuring growth hormone from the human pituitary gland. It is given to children with open epiphyses for the treatment of pituitary dwarfism. Chemical name: Somatotropin (human)

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
the highest daily intake of a nutrient that is likely to pose no risks of toxicity for almost all individuals. As intake above the UL increases, risk increases.

Toxic:
poisonous, everything, including water and oxygen is toxic in sufficiently high doses.

Thymus
the master gland of the immune system located behind the breastbone.

Thyroid
the gland located in the center of the brain responsible (amongst other things) for temperature regulation.

Triglycerides
a class of fats found in the bloodstream. Tobacco Control
study of theory and methods for research on tobacco use, and community-based prevention, control, and treatment using education, advocacy, and development of prevention programs.

Toxicology
study of the adverse effects of chemicals or other physical agents on human beings and other living organisms.

Tropical Medicine
deals with infectious and other diseases occurring or origination primarily in tropical and subtropical regions.

Veterinary Public Health
study of the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases (transmissible from animals to humans) in both animal and human populations.

Vitamin D
A fat-soluble vitamin that occurs in many forms, is naturally found in very few foods, and is synthesized in the skin. The two dietary forms are D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol).

Women's Health
Etiology, prevention and treatment of public health problems affecting women, and treatment of high-risk groups and controversies related to care.

Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary.

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Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary.

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Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary.Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary.













Micronutrient Healthy Living and Aging Glossary, healthy living glossary, healthy aging glossary, anti-aging glossary..