Nutrition Glossary

Alanine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can make it as needed.

The alcohol (ethanol) in beer, wine and spirits is not a nutrient, but it does supply energy — 7 calories per gram, second only to fat.

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the plant form of omega-3 and one of the two essential fatty acids the body cannot make.

Arachidic acid (eicosanoic acid) is a twenty-carbon long-chain saturated fatty acid.

Arachidonic acid is a long-chain omega-6 fatty acid the body makes from linoleic acid and also gets from animal foods.

Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid — usually made in sufficient amounts, but needed from food during growth, illness or injury.

Ash is not something you eat on its own — it is what remains after a food sample is fully burned in the lab, leaving only the inorganic minerals behind.

Aspartic acid (aspartate) is a non-essential amino acid the body makes on its own.

Behenic acid (docosanoic acid) is a twenty-two-carbon, very-long-chain saturated fatty acid found in peanut and rapeseed oils.

Beta-sitosterol is the most abundant phytosterol in food.

Betaine (trimethylglycine) is a compound closely related to choline.

Butyric acid is a short-chain fatty acid with just four carbons.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in coffee, tea, cocoa and many soft and energy drinks.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, with about 99% stored in the bones and teeth.

Campesterol is one of the common plant sterols (phytosterols) found in fruits, vegetables and vegetable oils.

Capric acid is a ten-carbon medium-chain triglyceride (MCT), closely related to caprylic acid.

Caproic acid (hexanoic acid) is a six-carbon medium-chain saturated fatty acid.

Caprylic acid is an eight-carbon medium-chain triglyceride (MCT).

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred fuel, providing 4 calories per gram.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in every cell of the body and only in animal-based foods.

Choline is an essential nutrient grouped with the B vitamins.

Copper is a trace mineral the body needs in small amounts to make energy, form red blood cells and connective tissue, and keep nerves and the immune system healthy.

Cystine is formed from two cysteine molecules joined by a sulfur "disulfide" bond.

DHA is a long-chain marine omega-3 and a major structural building block of the brain and the retina of the eye.

Dietary fiber is the part of plant foods your body cannot digest.

EPA is one of the long-chain marine omega-3 fatty acids, found mainly in oily fish and algae.

Erucic acid is a long-chain monounsaturated (omega-9) fatty acid found naturally in rapeseed and mustard-seed oils.

Fluoride is a trace mineral best known for strengthening tooth enamel and preventing cavities.

Folate (vitamin B9) is a water-soluble vitamin needed to make and repair DNA and to form healthy red blood cells.

Fructose is a simple sugar found naturally in fruit, honey and some vegetables, and it is the sweetest of the common sugars.

Gadoleic acid (also called gondoic acid) is a twenty-carbon omega-11 monounsaturated fatty acid.

Galactose is a simple sugar that, together with glucose, makes up lactose in milk.

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 fatty acid that, unlike most omega-6s, the body can use to make anti-inflammatory compounds.

Glucose is the simple sugar that circulates in your blood and serves as the body's main energy currency.

Glutamic acid (glutamate) is the most abundant amino acid in dietary protein and the brain's principal excitatory neurotransmitter.

Glycine is the smallest amino acid and makes up about a third of collagen, the most abundant protein in the body.

Histidine is one of the nine essential amino acids, meaning it has to come from food.

Iron is a mineral essential for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body.

Isoleucine is an essential branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), grouped with leucine and valine.

Lactose is the natural sugar in milk and dairy products, made of glucose and galactose.

Lauric acid is a twelve-carbon saturated fatty acid and the dominant fat in coconut oil.

Leucine is an essential branched-chain amino acid and the most potent dietary trigger of muscle protein synthesis — it activates the mTOR pathway that tells muscle to build and repair.

Lysine is an essential amino acid central to making collagen and carnitine, absorbing calcium, and supporting immune function.

Magnesium is a mineral involved in more than 300 enzyme reactions, including energy production, muscle and nerve function, blood-sugar control and blood-pressure regulation.

Maltose is a sugar made of two glucose molecules, produced when starch is broken down — for example as grains germinate or during digestion.

Manganese is a trace mineral that activates enzymes involved in metabolism, bone formation, blood clotting and antioxidant defense.

Methionine is an essential sulfur-containing amino acid.

Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) have a single double bond in their structure and are liquid at room temperature but thicken when chilled.

Myristic acid is a fourteen-carbon saturated fatty acid found in dairy fat, coconut, palm and nutmeg (from which it takes its name).

Nervonic acid is a twenty-four-carbon omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid and an important component of the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells — which is how it got its name.

Niacin (vitamin B3) is a water-soluble vitamin involved in hundreds of energy-producing reactions in the body.

Oleic acid is the most common monounsaturated fatty acid and an omega-9 fat.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of essential polyunsaturated fats — chiefly ALA (from plants) and EPA and DHA (from fish and algae).

Omega-6 fatty acids are a family of essential polyunsaturated fats, the main one being linoleic acid.

Palmitic acid is a sixteen-carbon saturated fatty acid and the most abundant saturated fat in both the diet and the human body — the body can even make it from excess carbohydrate.

Palmitoleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-7 fatty acid.

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is a water-soluble vitamin used to make coenzyme A, which is essential for breaking down fats and carbohydrates for energy and for synthesizing key molecules like hormones.

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid the body converts into tyrosine, which in turn becomes the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, plus thyroid hormones and the pigment melanin.

Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body.

Phytosterols are cholesterol-like compounds found in plants.

Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) have two or more double bonds and include the two families of essential fatty acids — omega-3 and omega-6 — that the body cannot make.

Potassium is an essential mineral and electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance, nerve signals and muscle contractions.

Proline is a non-essential amino acid that, with glycine, forms the backbone of collagen.

Protein is one of the three energy-providing macronutrients, supplying 4 calories per gram.

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is a water-soluble vitamin central to energy metabolism.

Saturated fat is a type of fat that is typically solid at room temperature.

Selenium is a trace mineral that forms part of antioxidant enzymes which protect cells from damage.

Serine is a non-essential amino acid the body produces from other compounds.

Sodium is an essential electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance, blood pressure, and nerve and muscle function.

Starch is a complex carbohydrate made of long chains of glucose, and it is how plants store energy.

Stearic acid is an eighteen-carbon saturated fatty acid found in cocoa butter, beef fat and shea butter.

Stigmasterol is a plant sterol found in soybeans, vegetable oils and many plants.

Sucrose is what we call ordinary table sugar.

Sugars are the simplest carbohydrates, including glucose, fructose, sucrose and lactose.

Theobromine is a mild stimulant in the same family as caffeine, found mainly in cocoa and chocolate.

Thiamin (vitamin B1) is a water-soluble B vitamin that helps convert carbohydrates from food into usable energy.

Threonine is an essential amino acid important for making collagen and elastin, the proteins that give skin and connective tissue strength and stretch.

Fat is the most energy-dense macronutrient at 9 calories per gram.

Trans fats are mostly artificial fats created by partially hydrogenating vegetable oil to make it solid and shelf-stable.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid best known as the precursor to serotonin — a neurotransmitter that influences mood — and from there to melatonin, the sleep hormone.

Tyrosine is a conditionally essential amino acid the body makes from phenylalanine.

Valine is the third essential branched-chain amino acid, alongside leucine and isoleucine.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for healthy vision, immune defense, reproduction and skin.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is a water-soluble vitamin involved in over 100 enzyme reactions, mostly in protein metabolism.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin found almost exclusively in animal foods.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble antioxidant the body cannot make or store, so a regular supply from food is needed.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts like a hormone.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cell membranes from oxidative damage.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin best known for its central role in blood clotting.

Water makes up roughly 50–60% of the adult body and is involved in virtually every bodily process.

Zinc is an essential trace mineral involved in immune function, wound healing, protein synthesis, DNA production and the senses of taste and smell.