Vitamins (description and common dietary uses):

Vit A - Helps with eye function especially night blindness. Helps with some skin disorders and immunity. Considered an antioxidant nutrient.

Vit B1 (thiamine) - Enhances circulation, needed for energy and assists with hydrochloric acid production and blood formation, and to metabolize carbohydrates. Is needed for normal growth and muscle tone of the intestines, stomach and heart.

Vit B2 (Riboflavin) - Necessary for red blood cell production, antibody production, cell respiration and helps with eye fatigue. Aids in the metabolism of fats, carbs and proteins. It facilitates oxygen used by body tissues (skin, nails and hair).

Vit B3 (Niacin) - Needed for proper circulation and healthy skin. Aids in the metabolism of fats carbs and proteins. Helps maintain normal nerve function and helps keep cholesterol levels normal.

Vit B5 (Pantothenic Acid) - Required by all cells in the body. Known as the "anti-stress" vitamin. Plays a role in the production of adrenal hormones, formation of antibodies ; aids in vitamin utilization and helps convert fats, carbohydrates, and proteins into energy.

Vit B6 (Pyridoxine) - Involved in more bodily functions than any other single nutrient. It affects both physical and mental health. Needed for normal brain function, immune system and formation of red blood cells.

Vit B12 (Cyanocobalamin) - Aids in cell formation and longevity. Required for proper digestion and to prevent anemia.

Biotin - Aids in cell growth, breaks down fats, carbs and proteins and needed for the utilization of B-Complex vitamins.

Choline - Needed for nerve transmission, gallbladder regulation and liver function. Also helps in the formation of lecithin, de-fats the liver, hormone production and to break down fats and cholesterol. Choline is key to brain function and memory.

Folic Acid - Needed for energy and formation of red blood cells. Also known as the "brain" vitamin.

Inositol - Vital for hair growth, lecithin formation and fat and cholesterol metabolism. Also helps to de-fat the liver.

Vit C (Ascorbic Acid) - One of the "antioxidant" vitamins; required for tissue growth and repair; Helps maintain normal adrenal function.

Vit D - Required for calcium and phosphorus absorption and utilization. Important for normal growth and strong teeth and bones.

Vit E - An antioxidant vitamin. Important in Cardiovascular health. Improves circulation, and helps with normal tissue repair.

Vit K - Needed for blood clotting and may play a role in bone formation.

Minerals:

Calcium - Essential for bone & teeth; Vital to muscle and nerve function

Phosphorous - Important for bones; Important for many metabolic processes; Works as a minor buffer in all body cells; Part of DNA & RND (the genetic code) and therefore is necessary for all growth.

Potassium - Helps regulate fluid balance and electrolyte balance and cell integrity; Promotes normal blood pressure.

Sodium - Helps regulate fluid balance; Helps maintain acid/base balance; Essential to nerve transmission and muscle contraction.

Boron - Helps retain bone density in menopausal women.

Chloride - Important for brain function, liver health and cholesterol levels; Critical to maintain fluid & electrolyte balance.

Magnesium - Necessary for energy metabolism; Important in more than 300 of the body's enzyme systems; Essential in glucose metabolism and in protein, fat and nucleic acid synthesis; Works with calcium in muscle contraction and blood clotting; Holds calcium to tooth enamel; Stimulates bone growth.

Sulfur - Component of two amino acids (methionine and cysteine); Plays a role in determining the profile of protein molecules.

Chromium - Essential for normal blood sugar levels (note: Diets high in simple sugars deplete the body of chromium).

Copper - Serves as a constituent of enzymes; Promotes iron absorption; Involved in the manufacture of collagen and the healing of wounds.

Iodine - Necessary to produce thyroid hormones.

Iron - Needed for transportation and storage of oxygen; Required for the making of amino acids, hormones and neurotransmitters.

Manganese - Essential for bone and cartilage formation; Component of enzymes.

Molybdenum - Component of enzymes needed for metabolism; Involved in iron storage.

Zinc - Assists in white blood cells' immune function; Interacts with platelets in blood clotting; Influences thyroid hormone function; Necessary to produce the active form of Vitamin A, retinal, in visual pigments; Essential for the salt-taster perception; Needed for wound healing; sperm production and fetal development; Helps protect the body from heavy metal poisoning.

Selenium - Powerful antioxidant; Found in the protein that participates in the conversion of thyroid hormone T₄ to its active form T₃

Water

The human body is composed of 70% water. The human body cannot survive without water. Dehydration and death can occur within 5 days without water. Even a slight drop in body water can trigger many physical and mental health problems.

Water is involved in ever bodily function. It is required to carry nutrients through the body; Maintain body temperature and then carry waste and toxic materials out of the body. It is required for chemical reactions that occur in the body and are necessary for human life. Since our body is constantly using water to survive, it is important to continually replace the water used by the body. It is suggested that 6-10 glasses of water be consumed each day.

Glossary

Adrenal Gland - Small endocrine gland secreting steroids and catechoilamines, located on top of each kidney. The adrenal hormones help with kidney function; helps release amino acids from skeletal muscles; lipids from adipose tissues; Gas anti-inflammatory effects; Increases cardiac activity; and helps with energy production.

Amino Acids - Are the building blocks of proteins

Amylase - An enzyme produced by the salivary glands and pancreas and helps breaks down polysaccharides.

Antibody - A globular protein produced by plasma cells that will bind to specific antigens and promote their destruction or removal from the body.

Antioxidant - An agent that prevents or inhibits oxidation. Naturally occurring or synthetic substances that help protect cells from the damaging effects of oxygen free radicals, highly reactive compounds created during normal cell metabolism.

Aorta - Large, elastic artery that carries blood away from the left ventricle and into the systemic circuit

Artery - A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart and toward the peripheral capillary.

Atria - Thin-walled chambers of the heart that receive venous blood from the pulmonary or systemic circuits.

Bile - Exocrine secretion, produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder and excreted into the duodenum by the way of the bile duct. Bile helps breakdown fats in the body.

Blood Pressure - A force exerted against the vascular walls by the blood.

Capillary - small blood vessels, whose thin walls permit the diffusion of gases, nutrients and wastes.

Carbohydrates - organic compound containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio of approximately 1:2.

Cartilage - A connective tissue with a gelatinous matrix and an abundance of fibers. The shock absorbers of the joints.

Cell - The smallest living unit in the human body.

Cirrhosis - A liver disorder characterized by the degeneration of hepatocytes and their replacement by connective tissue.

Cofactor - Ions or molecules that must be attached to the active site before an enzyme can function.

Cori cycle - Metabolic exchange of lactic acid from skeletal muscle for glucose from the liver; performed during the recovery period following muscular exertion

Dermatitis - Inflammation of the skin.

Digestion - The chemical break-down of ingested materials into simple molecules that can be absorbed by the cells of the digestive tract.

Digestive System - The digestive tract and associated glands.

Digestive Tract - An internal passageway that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus.

Duodenum - The proximal one foot of the small intestine that contains short villi and submucosal glands.

Endocrine Gland - A gland that secretes hormones into the blood.

Enzyme - A protein that catalyzes a specific biochemical reaction.

Fatty Acids - Hydrocarbon chains ending in a carboxyl group.

Fructose - A hexose (simple sugar containing six carbons) found in foods and in semen.

Gallbladder - A pear shaped reservoir for the bile secreted by the liver.

Gland - Cells that produce exocrine or endocrine secretions, derived from epithelia.

Glucose - A six carbon sugar, the preferred energy source for most cells and the only energy source for neurons under normal conditions.

Glycolysis - The series of reactions that convert a molecule to glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid; releases a small amount of energy in the form of ATP.

Growth hormone - Anterior pituitary hormone that stimulates tissue growth and anabolism when nutrients are abundant and restricts tissue glucose dependence when nutrients are in short supply.

Hepatic duct - Duct carrying bile away from the liver lobes and toward the union with the cystic duct.

Hepatitis - Inflammation of the liver, resulting from exposure to toxic drugs, chemicals or viruses.

Hippocampus - A region beneath the floor of a lateral ventricle involved with emotional states and the conversion of short-term to long-term memories.

Histamine - Chemical release by stimulated mast cells or basophils to initiate or enhance and inflammatory response.

Hormone - A compound secreted by one cell that travels throughout the circulatory system to affect the activities of cells in another portion of the body.

Hypoxia - Low tissue oxygen concentration.

Immunity - Resistance to injuries and disease caused by foreign compounds, toxins and pathogens.

Infection - Invasion and colonization of body tissues by pathogenic organism.

Inflammation - A nonspecific defense mechanism that operates at the tissue level, characterized by swelling, redness, warmth, pain and some loss of function.

Insulin - Hormone secreted by the beta cells of the pancreatic islet; causes a reduction in plasma glucose concentration.

Kidney - A component of the urinary system; An organ functioning in the regulation of plasma composition, including the excretion of wastes and the maintenance of normal fluid and electrolyte balance.

Laxative - Compounds that promote defecation via increased peristalsis or an increase in the water content and volume of the feces.

Limbis system - Group of nuclei and centers in the crebrum and diencephalon that are involved with emotional stats, memories and behavioral drives.

Lipase - A pancreatic enzyme that breaks down triglycerides.

Lipid - An organic compound containing carbons, hydrogens and oxygens in a ration that does not approximate 1:2:1, includes fats, oils, waxes.

Liver - An organ of the digestive system with varied and vital functions that include the production of plasma proteins, the excretion of bile, the storage of energy reserves. The detoxification of poison and the interconversion of nutrients.

Macula - A receptor complex in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear that responds to linear acceleration or gravity.

Macula Lutea Retinae - A yellow spot in the center of the retina approx. 2mm lateral to the exit of the optic nerve. It contains a pit, fovea centralis, where the retina is reduced to a layer of closely packed cones, which functions as the area of most acute vision.

Melanin - Yellow-brown pigment produced by the malanocytes of the skin.

Melatonin - Hormone secreted by the pineal gland (of the brain), inhibits secretion of MSH and GnRF and my influence sleep-walking cycles.

Mucous- Adjective referring to the presence of production of mucus.

Mucus - Lubricating secretion produced by the unicellular and multi-cellular glands along the digestive, respiratory, urinary and reproduction tracts.

Muscle Tissue - A tissue characterized by the presence of cells capable of contraction; Includes skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle tissue.

Neurotransmitter - Chemical compounds released by one neuron to affect the transmembrane potential of another.

Nutrient - An organic compound that can be broken down in the body to produce energy.

Obesity - Body weight 10-20 percent above standard values as the result of body fat accumulation.

Optic Nerve - Nerve that carries signals from the eye to the optic chiasma.

Organ - Combinations of tissues that perform complex functions.

Organic Compound - A compound containing carbon, hydrogen and usually oxygen.

Osmosis - The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane toward a solution containing a relatively high solute concentration.

Pancreas -Digestive organ containing exocrine and endocrine tissues, exocrine portion secretes pancreatic juice, endocrine portion secretes hormones including insulin and glucagon.

Pancreatic Juice - A mixture of buffers and digestive enzymes that is discharged into the duodenum under the stimulation of the enzymes secretin and cholecystokinin.

Parathormone - Hormones secreted by the parathyroid gland when plasma calcium levels fall below the normal range; Causes increased intestinal calcium uptake and decreased in calcium ion loss at the kidneys.

Parathyroid Glands - Four small glands embedded in the posterior surface of the thyroid; responsible for parathormone secretion.

Parkinson's disease - Progressive motor disorder due to degeneration of the cerebral nuclei.

Pepsin - Proteolytic enzyme secreted by the chief cells of the gastric glands in the stomach.

Polypeptide - A chain of amino acids strung together by peptide bonds; those containing over 100 peptides are called proteins.

Prostate gland - Accessory gland of the male reproductive tract, contributing roughly one-third of the volume of semen.

Protein - A large polypeptide with a complex structure.

Psoriasis - Skin Condition characterized by excessive keratin production and the formation of dry, scaly patches on the body surface.

Pyruvic acid - Three carbon compound produced by glycolysis.

Rectum - The last six inches of the digestive tract.

Retina - The innermost layer of the eye, which receives images transmitted through the lens and contains the receptors for vision, the rods and cones.

Serotonin - A neurotransmitter in the CNS; a compound that enhances inflammation, released by activated mast cells and basophils.

Small Intestine - The duodenum, jejunum and ileum; the digestive tract between the stomach and large intestine.

Spleen - Lymphatic organ important for red blood cell phagocytosis, immune response and lymphocyte production.

Synapse - Site of communication between a nerve cell and some other cell.

T Cells - Lymphocytes responsible for cellular immunity and for the coordination and regulation of the immune response.

Tendon - A collagenous band that connects a skeletal muscle to an element of the skeleton.

Thymus - Lymphatic organ, site of Tcell formation.

Thyroid gland - Endocrine gland whose lobes sit lateral to the thyroid cartilage of the larynx.

Thyroid hormones - Thyroxine (T4) and triodothyronone (T3) hormones of the thyroid gland; hormones that stimulate tissue metabolism, energy utilization and growth.

Veins Blood vessels carrying from a capillary bed toward the heart.

Virus - A pathogenic microorganism.

Vitamin - An essential organic nutrient that functions as a coenzyme in vital enzymatic reactions.