Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Galactans

    Polysaccharides composed of galactose derivatives.  

  • Functional foods

    Functional foods

    Foods eaten for specified health purposes because of their (rich) content of one or more nutrients or non-nutrient substances which may confer health benefits. Is any fresh or processed food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients. Also called medicinal food. A food item that has…

  • Fruitarian

    A person who eats only fruits, nuts, and seeds; an extreme form of vegetarianism. A vegetarian whose diet includes only plant products that fall off naturally so that the plant is not destroyed during harvesting; these include nuts, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, berries, and fruits such as apples, pears, and peaches. Someone who eliminates…

  • Fructosan

    A general name for polysaccharides of fructose, such as inulin. Not digested, and hence a part of dietary fibre or non-starch polysaccharides.  

  • Fructo-oligosaccharides

    Oligosaccharides consisting of fructose. A family of oligosaccharides, some of which help to foster the growth of bifidobacteria in the lower colon of monogastric animals (e.g., humans, pigs, etc.). Those bifidobacteria generate certain short-chain fatty acids, which are absorbed by the colon and result in a reduction of cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.  

  • Free sugars

    Mono- and disaccharides added to food, plus sugars in fruit juices, honey and syrup.  

  • Fractional test meal

    A method of examining the secretion of gastric juices; the stomach contents are sampled at intervals via a stomach tube after a test meal of gruel. Extended examination of the stomach contents. First the residual contents are removed and then the test meal is given. After the meal, assessments of gastric emptying, gastric acidity, pancreatic…

  • Fortification

    The deliberate addition of specific nutrients to foods as a means of providing the population with an increased level of intake. The addition of one or more nutrients to a food product in amounts so that the total amount will be larger than that contained in the natural food of its class. The FDA has…

  • Formula diet

    Composed of simple substances that require little digestion, are readily absorbed, and leave a minimum residue in the intestine: glucose, amino acids or peptides, mono- and diacylglycerols rather than starch, proteins, and fats.  

  • Formiminoglutamic acid (FIGLU) test

    A test for folic acid nutritional status, based on excretion of formiminoglutamic acid (FIGLU), a metabolite of the amino acid histidine, which is normally metabolised by a folic acid-dependent enzyme. An intermediate product in histidine metabolism; elevated in the urine of patients with deficiency of vitamin B12 or folates.