Glossary of terms

Acid - 1: A compound that dissociates when dissolved in water to yield hydrogen ions (H⁺). 2 : A chemical that donates a proton (+ charged particle)  3 : A compound that can accept a pair of electrons. 

Acidic - A condition where a solution of substance(s) is sufficiently acidic to give it a pH less than 7.

Adulterated - to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance; especially  to prepare for sale by replacing more valuable with less valuable or inert ingredients

Alkaline - A condition where a solution of substance(s) is sufficiently basic to give it a pH above 7.

Alkalize - To make alkaline by adding the presence of basic compounds to a solution.

Allopathic Medicine - 1 : a system of medical practice that aims to combat disease by use of drug remedies producing effects different from or incompatible with those produced by the special disease treated. The opposite of Homeopathy – 2: A system of medical practice making use of all measures that have proved of value in treatment of disease.

Anthocyanin - A type of flavonoid that is responsible for red, blue and purple colors in plants. Some anthocyanins are health enhancing.

Ayruvedic Medicine - An ancient system of medicine from India. Ayruvedic treatments are dietary and herbal.

Base - 1 : Compounds that when dissolved in water increase the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH). 2: A compound that can accept a proton.  3 :  A compound that can donate a pair of electrons.

Bioflavonoid - A flavonoid that has biological activity, such as antioxidatory, anti-inflammatory, immune enhancing or contributing in biochemical processes such as building and repair of connective tissue.

Bio-identical hormone - A hormone that is chemically the same as the hormone made by the body. A bio-identical hormone can be made by the body itself (natural) or made in a laboratory.  For example: Estradiol is one of the 3 primary estrogens made by the body. Estrace^R is a pharmaceutical that is the same as the body's own estradiol, so it is "bio-identical."  Progesterone is produced by the body and also in the laborotory. Progesterone that is produced in a lab is bio-identical, but not "natural".  Drug companies make both bio-identical and non bio-identical hormones.

Colloid - 1: a substance consisting of particles that are dispersed throughout another substance and are too small for resolution with an ordinary light microscope but are incapable of passing through a semipermeable membrane 2: a mixture (as smoke) consisting of a colloid together with the medium in which it is dispersed

Complementary Medicine - A combination of alternative and allopathic medicine. Complementary Medicine uses remedies that are deemed safe and effective by allopathic medicines. 

Cytokine - Proteins and glycoproteins that function as inter-cellular messangers. Cytokines are released by white blood cells and mediate communication among immune cells and between immune cells and other tissues.

Cytoplasm - The liquid compartment of a cell surrounding the nucleus and bordered by the cell membrane. The cytoplasm, which contains dissolved materials and cellular organelles, is the primary site of cellular chemical activity.

Dietary Supplement - A vitamin, mineral, herb, or plant or animal derived substance that, when added to the diet, provides a potential health benefit. Labeling and marketing of dietary supplements is regulated by the US government.

DSHEA - An acronym for The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The DSHEA law provides guidelines for the marketing and sale of dietary supplements to the public so as to protect the public from false or misleading claims.

Enzyme - A protein or protein comples that brings the elements of a chemical reaction together  in living organisms.  Without enzymes biochemical reactons would happen too slowly to sustain life. Enzymes speed up reactions by a factor of one thousand times or more.  Enzymes are involved in digestion and metabolism. Plant enzymes when consumed aid in digestion. Allopathic medicine does not recognize that plant enzymes have a health promoting role when absorped into the boodstream. Nutritional medicine, however, views absorbed plant enzymes as having important roles in the body: fighting inflammation, enhancing immune system, detoxifying, and guarding against cancer  by "digesting" cancer cell's outer coating. Plant enzymes are very fragile and are destroyed at temperatures greater than 118 degrees F and by microwaving and canning.  For more information on the alternative medicine view of enzyme nutrition refer to the book The Enzyme Cure by Lita Lee, PhD.

Flavonoid - Flavonoids are water-soluble plant pigments. Chemically they contain many phenolic (ring-like) stuctures. There are many different classes of flavonoids: isoflavones, anthocyanidins, flavans, flavonols, flavones, and flavanones.

 Functional Food - Foods that provide demonstrated physiological benefits or reduce the risk of chronic disease, above and beyond their basic nutritional functions.

GRAS - Generally Recognized As Safe. A term used by the FDA to denote substances that are added to food that the agency views safe and therefore exempt from the food additive tolerance requirements. GRAS ingredients typically have a long history of use.

Isomer - are molecules with the same chemical formula and often with the same kinds of bonds between atoms, but in which the atoms are arranged differently.

Live Cell Analysis - A process of studying living blood under a powerful microscope and relating changes observed in the blood to health and disease. Scientists who study live blood observe that a red blood cell is not static and will evolve or de-evolve in to different cell types. Scientists who study live blood call the pH condition of the body fluids the body's "inner terrain." They observe that, in an acidic terrain, cells change into yeasts, fungi and molds. In a healthy, alkaline terrain, cells have an appearance associated with good health and there is an absence of degenerated live forms.  Live cell science is in stark contrast to allopathic medicine which studies only de-vitalized blood and maintains that a certain cell type is not capable of changing into another life form. For more information on the study of live blood see the following references: Sick and Tired by Dr. Robert Young; Bechamp or Pasteur? A Lost Chapter in the History of Biology by Ethel Douglas. Scientist instrumental in the development of live cell analysis and the concept of inner terrain are: Antoine Bechamp; Claude Bernard; Gunther Enderlein; Virginia Livingston-Wheeler; Gaston Naessens.

Natural Medicine - A system of medicine that utilizes nutrition, herbs, supplements and a knowledge of biochemistry to optimize health.

Nutraceuticals - 1: Often referred to as phytochemicals or functional foods are natural, bioactive chemical compounds that have health promoting, disease preventing or medicinal properties. 2: Often used synonomously with dietary supplement.

Nutritional Medicine - A system of medicine that focuses on the biochemical basis for disease and seeks to identify and correct the root of disease causation through the use of diet, nutritional supplements and functional foods.

Osteoblasts - Cells responsible for the building up of bone

Osteoclasts - Cells responsible for resorption (breaking down of bone)

PCBs - An acronym for polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are contaminates from the plastic industry, especially those used in the past to insulate electric wires. PCBs have contaminated water supplies and possibly food supplies, especially fish. PCBs have been linked to cancer.

Unsaturated Bond - Unsaturated compounds are characterized by having two adjacent atoms, usually carbon,  linked by two or three bonds instead of only one.  These links are known as double bonds or triple bonds.  They have extra pairs of electons and fewer hydrogen atoms.  They are not stronger than single bonds, but weaker. Unsaturated compounds are chemically more reactive than saturates

 Xenoestrogen - A man-made chemical, foreign to the human body, that mimicks estrogen. Xenoestrogens may be released into the environment and enter our bodies through the food chain. Xenoestrogens are found in pesticides, plastics, and even some spermicides. Examples are PCBs, DDT, and Bisphenol A, and nonylphenol, an ingredient in spermacides.  Xenoestrogens and their relationships to human hormone related disease, especially cancer and infertility, is an active area of ongoing research.