Glossary of Terms
G
Gabapentin – A prescription drug used with other medications to prevent and control seizures. It is also used to relieve nerve pain following shingles in adults. Gabapentin is known as an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drug. Gabapentin has a large number of side effects including fever, body aches, unusual tiredness; headache; swelling of your legs and feet; problems with balance; and neuropathy.gall bladder – A pear-shaped organ that is underneath the liver. It stores bile until the body needs it for digesting fats.
gallstones – A small piece of hard material that sometimes forms in the gall bladder and can cause great pain. Most of them are formed from cholesterol.
gastric – Relating to or dealing with the stomach.
gland – A type of organ in the body that releases hormones or other substances for use by the body.
The best-known purpose of these organs is to release hormones used to regulate the body.
Other glands release miscellaneous substances that provide different functions for the body like the tear glands that produce tears for the purpose of moistening the eyes or the sweat glands that produce sweat to cool off the body.
glaucoma – A disease of the eye that can cause a person to gradually lose their sight. The loss of eyesight is caused by increasing pressure inside of the eye that destroys eye tissue.
glipizide – (generic name for Glucotrol) – One of a class of drugs (sulfonylureas) that are given by doctors that force the pancreas to create more insulin than it would naturally be able to create.
glucose – A sugar found in the blood that is produced by the liver from the food we eat. It is also absorbed from food in the Intestines. From the blood stream it is given to cells throughout the body for fuel
Glucose Tolerance Factor – A form of Chromium that is combined with essential amino acids to make it effective in handling the difficulty the body is having with using insulin. It works with Insulin to help transport sugar into the cells.
glucophage – brand name for Metformin.
glucotrol – brand name for Glipizide.
glyburide – (Sold under the brand name: Diabeta, Micronase) – One of a class of drugs (sulfonylureas) that are given by doctors that force the pancreas to create more insulin than it would naturally be able to create.
glycogen – A type of sugar that is found in the liver and muscle tissue. It can be quickly turned into glucose and made into energy for the cells.
H
HDL – (High Density Lipoprotein) An abbreviation that stands for a type of thing in the body that is made out of protein and fat molecules and has a specific job in the body. It is more dense than others of its kind because it is made mostly out of protein. It connects to cholesterol, pulls it out of the arteries, and carries it to the liver.
HDL cholesterol – Cholesterol that is connected to an HDL that can be found in the blood that is unlikely to build up in the arteries. Because it is less likely to build up in the arteries it is considered the “Good” cholesterol.
heartburn – (Acid indigestion, acid reflux) A burning sensation, usually centered in the middle of the chest near or above the bone in the center of the chest. It is caused by acidic gas being pushed up from the stomach into the throat.
hemorrhage – The loss of blood from a broken blood vessel, either inside or outside the body.
hormone – A chemical made by living cells in the body that influence the development, growth, behavior, etc. of a body or specific body parts and are carried around the body in the blood.
hyperglycemia – Too much sugar in the blood stream.
hyperinsulinemic – See hyperinsulinism.
hyperinsulinism – An abnormally high level of insulin in the blood of a person or animal.
hypertension – A condition in which your blood pressure is extremely high.
hypoglycemia – A medical condition resulting from dangerously low levels of sugar in the blood.
I
indian kino -A plant. from India, that has the herbal property of repairing the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.
inositol – A nutrient found in brewer’s yeast, lecithin and dark green leafy vegetables. It is an important nutrient involved in hair growth. It is used by the body as a building block to make other important molecules used for the digestion of fat and movement of other nutrients to other places in the body.
insoluble fiber – Fiber that comes from wheat and whole grain foods. They are responsible for regulating bowel movements. They do not dissolve in water.
insulin – A hormone made by the pancreas. It controls the amount of sugar in the blood. It also helps control the fat in your body. Insulin allows glucose to move from the blood into cells, where it is used for fuel.
insulin resistance – Reduced sensitivity to insulin. When a person continues to eat
too many foods that contain carbohydrates, there is a continual production of insulin.
Over time, with an excess amount of insulin, the cells become less sensitive to it.
This causes the body to have to produce even more insulin to handle the amount of sugar in the blood produced by eating too many carbohydrates. This larger amount of insulin in the body causes the cells to become even more insensitive to the Insulin.
It continues like this getting worse and worse, until the flow of sugar is stopped, and the body is allowed to become sensitive to Insulin again.
international unit – The amount of a hormone or vitamin required to produce a specific response that is agreed upon by international drug organizations. The criteria are usually issued over a type of substance such as a type of vitamins, or a type of drug.
Every type of drug, vitamin or nutrient has different criteria that their International Unit is based on.
intestines -A long tube through which food travels from the stomach and out of the body while it is being digested.
intravenous – Into or connected to a vein.
iodine – Iodine is a trace element that is naturally present in some foods, is added to some types of salt, and is available as a dietary supplement. Iodine is an essential component in the creation of certain thyroid hormones.
iron – A mineral found in Meats, eggs, some seafood and green leafy vegetables. Iron is used by the body to make healthy blood cells. It is also very important to the immune system.
isolated chemical USP vitamins and minerals – These are produced synthetically in chemical plants in ways that keep them stable, and the minerals come from mining companies.
Your body has a hard time recognizing isolated USP vitamins and minerals, because they are not like the nutrients in food. It is well documented that the absorption and utilization rate (bio-availability) of isolated vitamins and minerals is extremely poor.
isomalt – A type of sugar alcohol that is used as a natural sugar substitute. It can cause diarrhea when it is eaten in large amounts. It is made from beets.
IU – Abbreviation for International unit.
ketone – The natural waste that is created when the body burns fat for energy. They can be used by the brain and heart for energy.
kidney – A small organ in the body that takes away waste matter from the blood to produce urine. Most people have 2 of them.
kidney stone – A small hard mass that forms in the kidney. The mass is made of minerals contained in the urine.
L
lactic acid – An acid that is produced by the muscles during exercise. When the muscles use glucose for energy the waste is lactic acid. It is removed from the area as soon as the muscles relax. It is not dangerous but is the cause behind the burning sensation in your muscles after strenuous exercise.
lactitol – A sugar alcohol that is used to replace refined sugar in bulk food making such as “sugar free” cookies or ice cream.
lactobacillus – The kind of nutritional yeast which is used to make bread or yogurt.
Lagerstroemia Speciosa (leaf) – The Latin term for the Banaba tree leaf.
LDL – (Low Density Lipoprotein) any of a group of soluble proteins that combine with and transport fat or other lipids in the blood plasma. It is less dense than others of its kind because it is made mostly out of fat.
Its job is to carry cholesterol to the arteries so that cholesterol can be given to the cells to use as energy. When there is a large amount of LDL in the blood sometimes the cholesterol is left in the artery and becomes plaque.
LDL cholesterol – Cholesterol that is connected to an LDL. There is a chance of it being left in the artery to become plaque. For this reason it is considered “Bad” cholesterol.
lean body mass – The total mass of a person’s body without counting the fat in his body.
lecithin – A natural substance that can be found in many places such as egg yolk that helps break down fat so it can be absorbed by the body.
lipid – A substance such as a fat or oil that is an important part of living cells.
lipoprotein – A thing in the body that is made up of proteins and fats that usually have a specific task in the body such as carrying cholesterol to different parts of the body or carrying other nutrients in the body to places they are supposed to go.
Liver – A large organ in the body that cleans the blood.
low density lipoproteins – See LDL.
Lyrica – (pregabalin) – Lyrica was originally FDA approved as an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant. It works by slowing down impulses in the brain that cause seizures. Pregabalin also affects chemicals in the brain that send pain signals across the nervous system. Lyrica is used to treat pain caused by fibromyalgia, or nerve pain in people with diabetes (diabetic neuropathy), herpes zoster (post-herpetic neuralgia), or spinal cord injury.
Some of the side effects of Lyrica are dizziness, somnolence, dry mouth, edema, blurred vision, weight gain, and difficulty with concentration/attention, neuropathy, vertigo, incoordination, tremor, abnormal gait, headache, speech disorder, and twitching.
M
macular degeneration – The gradual blurring, of the center of your field of vision, which continues to get worse, eventually resulting in blindness. It is usually considered to be associated with age.
magnesium – A metal that in specific forms is a nutrient that has roles in turning glucose into energy, the actions of the muscles, and nerve signals. It is vital to over 200 different chemical processes in the body.
maltitol – A sugar alcohol used as a sugar substitute. It has 90% of the sweetness of refined sugar. It is made from starch. Maltitol has been linked to digestive trouble such as diarrhea if eaten in large amounts.
manganese – A mineral found in grains, nuts and green vegetables that is necessary for turning fat into energy and building of many different types of tissue in the body.
mangiferin – One of the substances in Pitika Root; It acts as an anti-oxidant and stops the body from digesting starch into sugar.
mannitol – A sweet white alcohol found in many plants that is used as a sweetener in foods.
medical food – Material in the form of nutrients or food that is intended for the dietary management of a disease that has specific nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone.
medication – A drug or other substance used to treat disease or injury; a medicine.
membrane – A very thin piece of material that covers or surrounds something.
metabolism —1. All the chemical processes in your body, especially those that cause food to be used for energy and growth.
2. The rate at which the body turns food into energy and the speed that the chemical processes of the body occur.
metabolize – To process a material like food or nutrients in your body and turn that material into something that can be used for energy or growth.
metformin – (sold under the brand names: Glucophage, Riomet, Fortamet, Glumetza, Diabex, Diaformin) A drug that is prescribed for Diabetes. The drug was made chemically to mimic the chemical properties of French Lilac, which has been known as an herb to reduce diabetic symptoms.
The medical field does not know how this drug works but by experiment it is shown to bring down blood sugar without bringing it too low. It has many side effects mostly dealing with the stomach and intestines, but affecting other parts of the body as well in various ways.
methylcobalamine – (Methyl B12) The form of Vitamin B12 that is used by the body. The body has to convert any other form of Vitamin B12 into this form before it can be used.
micronase – (generic name for Glyburide) – One of a class of drugs (sulfonylureas) that are given by doctors that force the pancreas to create more insulin than it would naturally be able to create.
micronutrients – A substance required for normal growth and development but only in very small quantities in comparison to other nutrients.
mineral – Inorganic substances that come from the soil and water and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals to remain healthy.
mineral salt – A mineral made from two or more inorganic substances combined together that form a salt.
molybdenum – A mineral found in dark green leafy vegetables, lima beans and sunflower seeds as well as others that assists the liver in processing Iron. It is a vital part of certain chemical processes in the body.
multiple sclerosis – A serious disease that usually gets worse, overtime. It occurs in central nervous system or the brain. It leads to the loss of the lining around the nerves in the brain or spinal cord and causes muscle weakness, poor eyesight, slow speech, and some inability to move.
mutagen – A substance that increases the rate of genetic change between cells when they divide. It is usually used in reference to changes in genetic material that cause harm or are not good. They can be created and put in food by heating food in a microwave.
