Read Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones Online
Authors: Suzanne Somers
Tags: #Women's Health, #Aging, #Health & Fitness, #Self-Help
Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones (58 page)
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA):
A nonexcitatory amino acid that raises the central nervous system. Excitator threshold reducing susceptibility to convulsions and CNS (central nervous system).
Genomics:
A branch of biotechnology concerned with applying the techniques of genetics and molecular biology to the genetic mapping and DNA sequencing of sets of genes to help predict the incidence and outcomes of clinical disease patterns.
Glutathione:
An antioxidant peptide useful for the detoxification of chemicals and heavy metals and reducing cellular inflammation.
Helicobacter:
Gram-negative bacteria proven to cause ulcers and gastritis and ultimately gastroesophageal cancer found primarily in chicken and other poultry.
HER2-neu:
Herpes II virus found in genital viral lesions.
Hypercholesterolemia:
The presence of excess cholesterol in the blood.
Hyperinsulinemia:
The presence of excess insulin in the blood.
Hyperpermeable:
Describing a membrane such as the lining of the gut that allows excess diffusions of substances through it.
Hyperplasia:
An abnormal or unusual increase in the elements composing a part (as cells composing a tissue).
Hypertrophy:
Excessive development of an organ or part—specifically, increase in bulk (as by thickening of muscle fibers) without multiplication of parts.
Hypogonadism:
Functional incompetence of the gonads, especially in the male, with subnormal or impaired production of hormones and germ cells.
Hypothalamus:
A structure in the brain that releases hormones to stimulate the pituitary to in turn release hormone regulators affecting bodily hormonal systems (thyroid, adrenals, and so on).
Hypothyroid:
Of, relating to, or affected with hypothyroidism (deficient activity of the thyroid gland).
Immunologic:
Relating to the immune system function of the body.
Inflammation:
A bodily condition indicating inflamed cellular energy production, contributing to many disease processes in the body.
Interleukin:
Any of various compounds of low molecular weight that are produced by lymphocyte macrophages and monocytes and that function especially in regulation of the immune system and especially cell-mediated immunity.
Kinesiology:
The study of the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement. Also used in applied kinesiology to read the electromagnetic balance of a body.
L-glutamine:
An amino acid used for muscle function, gastrointestinal repair, and detoxification.
Lipid system:
System of the body that involves the use and metabolism of fat-related compounds.
Lipoprotein:
Any of a large class of conjugated proteins composed of a complex of protein and lipid that carry lipids in the bloodstream.
Lupus:
Lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease adversely affecting the lungs, heart, skin, joints, and the like.
Luteinizing hormone:
A glycoprotein produced in the pituitary that stimulates progesterone secretion from the corpus luteum in the ovaries of females and testosterone production from the testes in males.
Macular degeneration:
Progressive deterioration of the macula lutea in the retina, resulting in a gradual loss of the central part of the field of vision.
Melatonin:
A hormone that is derived from serotonin and secreted by the pineal gland especially in response to darkness. It has been linked to the regulation of circadian hormonal rhythms and has strong antioxidant function in the prevention of cancer.
Menarche:
The age at which a young female begins menstruation.
Metabolism:
The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively).
Metastasis:
The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. Cells that have metastasized are like those in the original (primary) tumor.
Mitochondria:
Structures in the cell in which energy is produced in the Krebs cycle.
Modality:
A form of application or employment of a therapeutic agent or regimen.
Mucosa:
Mucous membrane or moist tissue layer that lines the hollow organs and cavities of the body.
Necrosis:
Death of living tissue—specifically, the death of a portion of tissue differentially affected by local injury (as loss of blood supply, corrosion, burning, or the local lesion of a disease).
Neuromuscular:
Of or relating to nerves and muscles especially jointly involving nervous and muscular elements.
Neurotoxicity:
Any toxic element adversely influencing nervous function.
Norepinephrine:
An adrenal medullary hormone that is the chemical means of transmission across synapses in postganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system and that helps to maintain blood pressure.
Oncogene:
A gene having the potential to cause a normal cell to become cancerous.
Osteoblasts:
Bone-forming cells stimulated by progesterone and testosterone.
Osteoclast:
Any of the large multinucleated (having more than two nuclei) cells closely associated with areas of bone resorption necessary in the proper remodeling of bone.
Osteoporosis:
A condition that affects especially older women and is characterized by decrease in bone mass with decreased density and enlargement of bone spaces producing porosity and brittleness.
Paraquat:
An herbicide that is used especially as a weed killer and is extremely toxic to the liver, kidneys, and lungs if ingested.
Pathogenesis:
The origination and development of a disease.
Perimenopause:
The period around the onset of menopause that is often marked by various physical signs (such as hot flashes and menstrual irregularity).
Permutation:
A complete transformation or change.
Pernicious anemia:
An anemia with severe neurological deterioration secondary to impaired vitamin B
12
absorption.
Peroxidase:
An enzyme that hastens the transfer of oxygen from peroxide to a tissue that requires oxygen. This process is essential to cellular energy production.
Phosphatidylcholine:
A phospholipid that helps the brain manufacture neurotransmitter function, enhancing memory.
Phosphatidylserine:
A phospholipid that maintains brain cell membranes that helps with dementia and depression.
Phthalate:
A stabilizer used in plastics that is toxic to the liver and other tissues.
Pituitary:
The main endocrine gland; produces hormones that control other glands and many body functions, especially growth.
Polycystic ovaries:
A condition of multiple cysts associated with infertility, weight gain, and other symptoms.
Prolactin:
A protein hormone of the pituitary gland that induces and maintains lactation in the postpartum mammalian female and can disrupt the function of other hormones.
Pylori:
The openings from the stomach into the duodenum of the small intestine.
Quartile:
A fourth of a whole.
Recolonize:
To reinstitute bacterial growth especially in the gastrointestinal tract to improve digestion and absorption.
Rectus abdominis:
A long, flat muscle on either side of the linea alba extending along the whole length of the front of the abdomen, arising from the pubic crest and symphysis, inserted into the cartilages of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs, and acting to flex the spinal column, tense the anterior wall of the abdomen, and assist in compressing the contents of the abdomen.
Selenium:
An element that is used as a component of thyroid hormone activation and heavy metal chemical detoxification.
Serotonin:
A chemical in the brain involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Serotonin can trigger the release of substances in the blood vessels of the brain that in turn cause the pain of the migraine owing to its vasoconstrictive effect. Used for weight control, sugar craving, depression, muscle aches, and pains.
Sleep apnea:
Brief periods of recurrent cessation of breathing during sleep that is caused especially by obstruction of the airway or a disturbance in the brain’s respiratory center and is associated especially with excessive daytime sleeping.
Statin:
Any of a group of drugs that inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol and promote the production of LDL-binding receptors in the liver, resulting in a marked decrease in the level of LDL and a modest increase in the level of HDL circulating in blood plasma. Side effects include liver damage, reduction of coenzyme Q10, and memory problems.
Stenosis:
A narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice.
Thyroxine:
One of the principal hormones secreted by the thyroid gland consisting of the amino acid tyrosine with four attached iodines (T4). T4 is deiodinized to the more active T3, which promotes metabolism in all tissues of the body.
Transdermal:
Relating to, being, or supplying a medication in a form for absorption through the skin into the bloodstream.
Troche:
Lozenge.
Tumor necrosis factor–alpha:
A protein that is produced chiefly by monocytes and macrophages in response especially to endotoxins, that mediates inflammation, and that induces the destruction of some tumor cells in the activation of white blood cells.
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