Author: Glossary

  • Oncotic pressure

    That part of plasma osmotic pressure exerted by proteins. The pressure exerted by the plasma proteins on the walls of the vascular system. These proteins are too large to pass through the capillaries, hence this pressure is noted only in the large vessels. Pressure within a blood vessel exerted by the presence of colloid molecules,…

  • Omophagia

    Eating of raw or uncooked food.  

  • Oligosaccharides

    Carbohydrates composed of 3-10 monosaccharide units (with more than 10 units they are termed polysaccharides). Those composed of fructose, galactose or isomaltose have prebiotic action and encourage the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria. Relatively short molecular chains made up to 10-100 simple sugar (saccharide) units. These sugar (i.e., carbohydrate) chains are frequently attached to protein…

  • Oligopeptides

    Polymers of 4 or more amino acids; more than about 20-50 are termed polypeptides, and more than about 100 are considered to be proteins. A relatively short chain molecule that is made up of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.  

  • Oligofructose (or fructo-oligosaccharide)

    Polymer of fructose made from sucrose or inulin, a non-digestible oligosaccharide.  

  • Oligodipsia

    Reduced sense of thirst. A condition in which a person does not want to drink.  

  • Oligoallergenic diet

    Comprised of very few foods or an elemental diet used to diagnose whether particular symptoms are the result of allergic response to food.  

  • Oleic acid

    Mono-unsaturated fatty acid (08:1 ω9). A fatty acid that is naturally present in the fat of animals and also in oils extracted from oil-seed plants (e.g., soybean, canola, etc.). For example, the soybean oil produced from traditional varieties of soybeans tends to contain 24% oleic acid. An 18-carbon fatty acid that contains one double bond…

  • Office of dietary supplements (ODS)

    Office of the US National Institutes of Health; website http:/ / dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov.  

  • Oestrogens

    Are steroid hormones principally secreted by the ovaries, which maintain female characteristics. A female sex hormone. Any steroid hormone which stimulates the development of secondary sexual characteristics in females at puberty. Natural or synthetic substances that induce the changes in the uterus preceding ovulation. They are also responsible for the development of the secondary sex…