Glossary

Category: V

  • Vacuum

    A space which is completely empty of all matter, including air. A space exhausted of its air content. A longstanding concept of natural philosophy that provides a useful tabla rasa on which to construct our models of reality: a completely empty space devoid of all matter, a void. In the fifth century B.C.E., Leucippus of…

  • Vitaminoids

    Name given to compounds with ‘vitamin-like’ activity; considered by some to be vitamins or partially to replace vitamins. Includes flavonoids, inositol, carnitine, choline, lipoic acid, and the essential fatty acids. With the exception of the essential fatty acids, there is little evidence that any of them is a dietary essential.  

  • Vitamin Q

    Ubiquinone.  

  • Vitamers

    Chemical compounds structurally related to a vitamin, and converted to the same overall active metabolites in the body. They thus possess the same biological activity. Any one of a number of compounds that have specific vitamin activity.  

  • Vitafoods

    Foods designed to meet the needs of health conscious consumers which enhance physical or mental quality of life and may increase health status.  

  • Villi, intestinal

    Small, finger-like processes covering the surface of the small intestine in large numbers (20-40/mm2), projecting some 0.5-1 mm into the lumen. They provide a large surface area (about 300 m2) for absorption in the small intestine. Tiny finger-like projections lining the interior of the small intestine that absorb fluid and nutrients. Small, fingerlike projections that…

  • Verbascose

    A non-digestible tetrasaccharide, galactose-galactose-glucose-fructose, found in legumes; fermented by intestinal bacteria and causes flatulence.  

  • Vegans

    Vegans

    A fully plant-based eating regimen. Those who consume no foods of animal origin. (Vegetarians often consume milk and/or eggs-). A strict vegetarian. Someone who does not eat meat, dairy produce, eggs or fish and eats only vegetables and fruit. An individual who subsists on a diet free of meat, milk, egg, cheese, and fish. May…

  • Van der Waals forces

    Interaction through space of two non-polar groups. The relatively weak forces of attraction between molecules that contribute to intermolecular bonding (i.e., binding-together two or more adjacent molecules). Historically, it was thought that van der Waals forces were always weaker than the hydrogen bond forces responsible for intramolecular bonding. However, in 1995, Dr. Alfred French discovered…

  • Vyvanse

    Brand name for the central nervous system (CNS) stimulant drug lisdexamfetamine.