Health Term Defined Glossary

Fitness can be performance-related or health-related. Performance-related fitness is a measure of an athlete's agility, balance, power, and speed. This topic focuses on health-related fitness, which you can achieve through regular physical activity. The benefits of both types of fitness are a healthy heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory fitness), increased flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance. Health-related fitness helps you feel your best and reduces the risk of heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Being fit helps you to have more energy throughout the day for work or school, and energy left over to enjoy your leisure time.

Aerobic fitness increases the amount of oxygen that is delivered to your muscles, which allows them to work longer. Any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time will improve your aerobic fitness.

Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin in the B-complex group and is sometimes known vitamin B-9 or folate. Folic acid works with vitamins B-12 and C to help the body digest and use proteins. The nutrient is necessary for production of red-blood cells and for synthesis of DNA, which controls heredity and guides cells in their operations. Folic acid also helps with tissue growth, cell function, and increasing appetite and digestive acids. Doctors use synthetic folic acid to treat menstrual problems and leg ulcers. We can get folic acid by eating beans and legumes; citrus fruits; wheat bran and other whole grains; dark, green, leafy vegetables; poultry, pork and shellfish; and liver. Fruit juices also contain folic acid. Folic acid deficiency can stunt growth, gray hair, inflame the tongue, and cause diarrhea. The best way to get the daily requirement of essential vitamins is to eat a balanced diet comprised of foods from the food guide pyramid. Adequate levels of folic acid are particularly important for pregnant women because studies show it prevents certain birth defects, including spina bifida

A phrase made popular by diets like South Beach, the glycemic index indicates how quickly and how much certain foods raise blood sugar levels. When carbohydrates are digested, they are broken down into glucose, a simple sugar in the blood which serves as the body's main source of energy. Foods with a low glycemic index, like whole wheat pasta or spinach, have less dramatic effects on blood sugar levels than foods on the other end of the glycemic index. Foods with a high glycemic index, like white breads, cookies, many snack foods, or potatoes, raise blood sugars quickly and then send them plummeting, which can lead to feeling hungry soon after eating, and potentially a blood sugar imbalance over time. Last year, a University of Massachusetts Medical School study determined that high body mass index, a measurement of total body fat and an indicator of heart disease risk, was associated with diets that included foods with a high glycemic index.

A healthy weight is the natural weight you can reach through good eating, regular physical activity, managing stress, and not smoking. Reaching a specific weight is not as important as the lifestyle changes you make to become healthy. Weight is only one component of health. Even if you carry some extra weight, by eating right and getting plenty of physical activity, you'll feel better, have more energy, and reduce your risk of weight-related diseases, such as coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. In fact, you may be healthier than a thin person who eats poorly and isn't physically active.

Heartburn is a common ailment: An estimated 26 percent of adult Americans suffer from frequent heartburn, according to a 2003 survey by the National Heartburn Alliance.

Heartburn is caused by stomach acid flowing backwards into the esophagus. This often happens because a tiny valve located at the top of the stomach is not working properly. If you are lying down after eating, for instance, the valve is more likely to relax, and the acids flow backwards.

Eating a diet high in acidic foods can also cause heartburn, which is why sufferers are often advised to avoid citrus fruits, tomato-based foods, garlic, and raw onions.

Heartburn is also the most common symptom of gastresophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD. Experiencing occasional heartburn doesn’t mean you have GERD, but GERD can lead to more serious health issues, so experts at the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse advise anyone who experiences heartburn more than twice a week to consult their doctor.