Say What?

This is our alphabetized, glossary of terms used throughout the Eggs and Our Health page. We have provided this in an attempt to add clarity for those who wish to navigate the somewhat complex topic of scientific, nutritional research. And, it helps us too!

Alzherimer's - a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events.

Amino Acid - are organic compounds containing amine and carboxyl functional groups, along with a side chain specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, although other elements are found in the side chains of certain amino acids.

Atherosclerosis - is a disease in which the inside of an artery narrows due to the build up of plaque. Initially, there are generally no symptoms. When severe, it can result in coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, or kidney problems depending on the arteries affected.

Carotid Atherosclerosis - the carotid arteries can also develop atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries" on the inside of the vessels.

Congestive Heart Failure - is when the heart is unable to pump sufficiently to maintain blood flow to meet the body's needs.

Coronary Angiography - is a procedure that uses contrast dye, usually containing iodine, and x ray pictures to detect blockages in the coronary arteries.

Endothelial Dysfunction - In vascular diseases, endothelial dysfunction is a systemic pathological state of the endothelium.

Endothelium - refers to cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall.

Epidemiology - is the study and analysis of the distribution and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations.

Hepatic Steatosis - a condition wherein large vacuoles of triglyceride fat (the main constituents of body fat in humans and other animals) accumulate in liver cells via the process of steatosis (process describing the abnormal retention of lipids within a cell).

High-density lipoprotein - High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are one of the five major groups of lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are complex particles composed of multiple proteins which transport all fat molecules around the body within the water outside cells.

Homocysteine - is a non-proteinogenic α-amino acid. Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with heart attack, stroke, and blood clots.

Hyper-responder - those who have a very dramatic increase in their cholesterol after adopting a low carb diet.

LDL Oxidation - as low-density lipoproteins encounter free radicals, which are unstable molecules driven to become balanced by bonding with other molecules, the two combine through a chemical reaction called oxidation. When that happens, the LDLs -- now called oxidized LDLs -- are damaged, which triggers inflammation and attracts white blood cells called macrophages.

Lipids - are molecules that contain hydrocarbons and make up the building blocks of the structure and function of living cells.

Low-density lipoprotein - Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein which transport all fat molecules around the body in the extracellular water. Low-density lipoprotein delivers fat molecules to the cells and can drive the progression of atherosclerosis if they become oxidized within the walls of arteries.

Macrophages - are abundant in atherosclerotic plaques and are a pivotal cell type in plaque formation and progression.

Macular Degeneration -  is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field.

Metabolic acidosis - is a condition that occurs when the body produces excessive quantities of acid or when the kidneys are not removing enough acid from the body.

Methionine - is an essential amino acid in humans.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 - recruits monocytes (white blood cells), memory T cells (a subset of infection- and cancer-fighting T cells), and dendritic cells (antigen-presenting cells of the mammalian immune system) to the sites of inflammation produced by either tissue injury or infection.

Osteoperosis - is a disease where increased bone weakness increases the risk of a broken bone. It is the most common reason for a broken bone among the elderly.

Oxidative Stress - eflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage.

Permissive - habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something (and in context: a permissive cell or host is one that allows a virus to circumvent its defenses and replicate).

Phosphatidylcholine (choline) - naturally abundant in cell membranes, this phospholipid, breaks down the fat stored in fat cells.

Postprandial - Prandial relates to a meal. Postprandial means after eating a meal while preprandial is before a meal.

Potentiates - to cause to be potent; make powerful.

Pre-diabetes - is the precursor stage before diabetes mellitus in which not all of the symptoms required to diagnose diabetes are present, but blood sugar is abnormally high.

Lipemia - occurs after the ingestion of foods with a large content of fat. Sometimes called alimentary lipemia.

Regulatory capture - Regulatory capture is a form of government failure which occurs when a regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.

Trimethylamine - colorless, hygroscopic, and flammable tertiary amine has a strong "fishy" odor in low concentrations and an ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations. A degradation product, often by putrefaction, of nitrogenous plant and animal substances.

Type-2 Diabetes - is a problem with your body that causes blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise higher than normal. This is also called hyperglycemia.