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Calcium: Of all the essential minerals in the human body, calcium is the most abundant. Calcium helps the body form bones and teeth and is required for blood clotting, transmitting signals in nerve cells, and muscle contraction. Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis; of the two to three pounds of calcium contained in the human body, 99% is located in the bones and teeth.

Glycemic Index (GI): The Glycemic Index is a dietary index that’s used to rank carbohydrate-based foods. The Glycemic Index predicts the rate at which the ingested food will increase bloodsugar levels

Glycemic Load (GL): Glycemic Load is equal to the Glycemic Index of a food times the number of grams of carbohydrates in the serving of food that’s being eaten. Glycemic Load is believed to correlate more directly to blood-sugar level changes than Glycemic Index

Dietary Fiber: Dietary fiber comes from the thick cell walls of plants. It is an indigestible complex carbohydrate. Fiber is divided into two general categories: water-soluble and water-insoluble.

Soluble fiber has been shown to lower cholesterol. However, in many studies, the degree of cholesterol reduction was quite modest. For unknown reasons, diets higher in insoluble fiber (mostly unrelated to cholesterol levels) have been shown to correlate better with protection against heart disease in human trials. Soluble fibers can also lower blood-sugar levels, and some doctors believe that increasing fiber decreases the body’s need for insulin—a good sign for diabetics.

Insoluble fiber acts as a stool softener, which speeds digestion through the intestinal tract. For this reason, insoluble fiber is an effective treatment for constipation. The reduction in “transit time” has also been thought to partially explain the link between a high-fiber diet and a reduced risk of colon cancer.

Cholesterol: Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance present in all parts of the body including the nervous system, skin, muscles, liver, intestines, and heart. It is both made by the body and obtained from animal products in the diet. Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver for normal body functions including the production of hormones, bile acid, and vitamin D. It is transported in the blood to be used by all parts of the body.

In the blood stream, cholesterol combines with fatty acids to form high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoproteins. LDLs are considered the “bad cholesterol,” since they can stick together to form plaque deposits on the walls of your blood vessels, leading to atherosclerosis.

One-fourth of the adult population in the U.S. has high blood cholesterol levels. More than half of the adult population has blood cholesterol levels that exceed the desirable range, as specified by the medical community. Elevated cholesterol often begins in childhood. Some children may be at higher risk than others due to a family history of high cholesterol.

Calorie: Calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. One calorie is formally defined as the amount of energy required to raise one cubic centimeter of water by one degree centigrade. For the purpose of measuring the amount of energy in food, nutritionists most commonly use kilocalories (equal to 1,000 calories), and label the measurement either as “kcal” or as “Calories” with a capital “C.” One kcal is also equivalent to approximately 4.184 kilojoules.

Calcium: Of all the essential minerals in the human body, calcium is the most abundant. Calcium helps the body form bones and teeth and is required for blood clotting, transmitting signals in nerve cells, and muscle contraction. Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis; of the two to three pounds of calcium contained in the human body, 99% is located in the bones and teeth.

Antioxidant: Antioxidants are chemical substances that help protect against cell damage from free radicals. Well-known antioxidants include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, and flavonoids.

source: nutrition data