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You don’t need supplements to build a great physique. You don’t need to constantly change up your workout routine to “confuse” your muscles. You don’t need to “eat clean” to get and stay lean. You don’t need to stop eating carbs and sugars to lose weight. You don’t need to eat small meals every few hours to “boost your metabolism.” You don’t need to grind out hours and hours of boring cardio every week to get six-pack abs. You don’t need to be in the gym hours per day and sacrifice your relationships with your friends and loved ones.
The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.
Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn. —BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
(Physiology, by the way, is the scientific study of the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.)
Energy Energy is the power received from electricity, fuel, food, and other sources to do work or produce motion. Energy is the physical or mental strength of a person that can be directed toward some activity.
Organism An organism is a single living thing, such as a person, animal, or plant.
Cell A cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. Some living organisms exist only as a single cell, and according to the most recent research, your body is made of approximately 37.2 trillion cells.1 Cells produce energy, exchange information, multiply, and eventually die when their time has come.
Tissue Tissue is a group of cells in animals and plants that forms a definite kind of structural material with a specific function.
Muscle Muscle is a tissue in the body, often attached to bones, that can tighten and relax to produce motion.
Skeletal Muscle Skeletal muscle is muscle tissue connected to the skeleton to form part of the system that moves the limbs and other parts of the body.
Muscle Fiber A muscle fiber, also called a muscle cell or myocyte, is a collection of long, threadlike strands called myofibrils that contract, along with other structural elements that you find in other cells in the human body.
Fat Fat is an oily or greasy substance found in animal bodies, especially when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs. Fat is a substance of this type derived from animals and plants that is solid or liquid in form, and often used in cooking.
Organ An organ is a group of tissues that work together to perform a specific function in an organism, like the heart, skin, and lungs. Skeletal muscle is not an organ because it contains just one type of tissue.
Gram A gram is a unit of weight in the metric system. One pound is about 454 grams.
Kilogram A kilogram is a unit of weight in the metric system equal to 1,000 grams, or 2.2 pounds.
Celsius Celsius is a scale of temperature on which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. In the Fahrenheit scale used in the United States, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees.
Calorie A calorie is the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. This is also called a kilocalorie or large calorie, and is used to represent the energy value of food.
Amino Acid An amino acid is a naturally occurring compound found in proteins.
Protein A protein is a naturally occurring compound that’s composed of one or more long chains of amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all organisms and are used to create body tissues such as muscle, hair, and skin, as well as various chemicals vital to life.
Essential Amino Acid An essential amino acid is an amino acid needed by the body to maintain growth and health that must be obtained from food.
Gas A gas is a substance that is in an air-like form (not solid or liquid).
Carbon Carbon is a nonmetallic element found in all life and much of the matter on earth.
Oxygen Oxygen is a colorless, odorless gas that is necessary for most living things to survive.
Hydrogen Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas that is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe.
Carbohydrate A carbohydrate is a molecule composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen that can be broken down in the body to release energy.
Digestion Digestion is the process of breaking down food so it can be used by the body.
Enzyme An enzyme is a substance produced by organisms that causes specific chemical reactions.
Metabolism Metabolism is the series of physical and chemical processes that occur in an organism in order to maintain life. Metabolism involves the production of energy as well as the creation, maintenance, and destruction of cells and tissues.
Anabolism Anabolism is a metabolic process in an organism by which energy is used to make more complex substances (such as tissue) from simpler ones (such as proteins). This is also known as constructive metabolism.
Catabolism Catabolism is the metabolic process by which more complex substances (such as proteins) are broken down into simpler ones (such as amino acids), together with the release of energy. This is also known as destructive metabolism.
Healthy If a body is healthy, it has good strength and high energy levels and is free from pain, illness, damage, and dysfunction.
Macronutrient A macronutrient is any of the nutritional components of the diet required in relatively large amounts. Specifically, these are protein, carbohydrate, fat, and minerals, such as calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous.
Vitamin A vitamin is a substance that an organism needs for cells to function, grow, and develop correctly.
Hormone A hormone is a chemical that’s transported by the blood or other bodily fluids to cells and organs, where it causes some action or has some specific effect.
Mineral A mineral is a carbonless substance that forms naturally in the earth. Humans need various minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and zinc, for many different physiological functions, including building bones, making hormones, and regulating the heartbeat.
Sugar Sugar is a class of sweet-tasting carbohydrate that comes from various plants, fruits, grains, and other sources.
Glucose Glucose is a sugar that occurs widely in nature and is an important energy source in organisms. Glucose is a component of many carbohydrates.
Milligram A milligram is a unit of weight in the metric system equal to one-thousandth of a gram.
Milliliter A milliliter is a unit of capacity in the metric system equal to one-thousandth of a liter, which is equal to about 4.2 cups in the United States customary system.
Blood Sugar Blood sugar is glucose in your blood. Blood sugar refers to the concentration of glucose in your blood, measured in milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of blood.
Sucrose Sucrose is a sugar that occurs naturally in most plants and is obtained commercially especially from sugarcane or sugar beets. Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar.
Fructose Fructose is a very sweet sugar found in many fruits and honey, as well as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, both of which are about 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Fructose is converted into glucose by the liver and then released into the blood for use.
Galactose Galactose is a type of sugar found in dairy products that is metabolized similarly to fructose.
Lactose Lactose is a type of sugar present in milk that contains glucose and galactose.
Glycogen Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate found primarily in the liver and muscle tissue. Glycogen is stored energy and can be readily converted to glucose to satisfy the body’s energy needs.
Simple Carbohydrate A simple carbohydrate is a form of carbohydrate that breaks down quickly into glucose in the body. Fructose, lactose, and sucrose are simple carbohydrates.
Complex Carbohydrate A complex carbohydrate is a form of carbohydrate consisting of a chain of simple carbohydrates linked together. Because of this structure, a complex carbohydrate takes longer to break down into glucose in the body. The sugars found in whole grains, beans, and vegetables are complex carbohydrates.
Starch Starch is a complex carbohydrate found naturally in many fruits and vegetables and added to certain foods to thicken them.
Insulin Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas and released into the blood when you eat food. Insulin causes muscles, organs, and fat tissue to absorb and use or store the nutrients from food.
Index An index is a system of listing information in an order that allows one to compare it easily to other information.
