Natasha Green Personal Training & Boot Camps

A-Z NUTRITION GLOSSARY:

SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine)

SAMe, a natural metabolite of the amino acid methionine, plays a key role in dozens of chemical reactions in the body.

Satiety

Satiety refers to the feeling of satisfaction or "fullness" produced by the consumption of food.

Saturated Fat

A saturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there are no double bonds between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature. Diets high in saturated fat have been shown to correlate with an increased incidence of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Dehydrogenation converts saturated fats to unsaturated fats, while hydrogenation accomplishes the reverse. Common saturated fats include butter, lard, palm oil, coconut oil, cottonseed oil and Palm Kernel Oil.

Saturated fat is found in dairy products, especially cream and cheese and in meat, as well as in many prepared foods. Some studies suggest replacing saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats will increase one's ratio of HDL to LDL serum cholesterol. Alternatives to saturated fats include monosaturated fats such as olive oil and polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil and corn oil.

Selenium

Selenium is an essential trace mineral. Selenium activates an antioxidant enzyme called glutathione peroxidase, which may help protect the body from cancer. Yeast-derived forms of selenium have induced "apoptosis" (programmed cell death) in cancer cells in test tubes and in animals. One study found that men consuming the most dietary selenium developed 65% fewer cases of advanced prostate cancer than did men with low levels of selenium intake.

Selenium is also essential for healthy immune functioning. Even in a non-deficient population of elderly people, selenium supplementation has been found to stimulate the activity of white blood cells. Selenium is also needed to activate thyroid hormones. In a placebo-controlled study, selenium supplementation indicated a reduction in disease activity in people with autoimmune thyroiditis (thyroid inflammation). In a double-blind trial, selenium supplementation of infertile men improved the motility of sperm cells and increased the chance of conception.

Siberian Ginseng

Siberian Ginseng is known to ease depression, boost stamina and immune function, and enhance concentration. Siberian ginseng is a genus of the panax (true ginseng) plant. Widely known as an adaptogen, a substance that may help assist people in dealing with physical and emotional stress, Siberian ginseng has been used to increase the capability to peform physical tasks and to relieve stress.

Sodium

Sodium is a mineral, an essential nutrient. It helps to maintain blood volume, regulate the balance of water in the cells, and keeps nerves functioning. The kidneys control sodium balance by increasing or decreasing sodium in the urine. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium, more than four times the amount the body requires per day.

Many foods contain sodium naturally, and it is commonly added to foods during preparation or processing or as a flavoring agent. Sodium is also found in drinking water, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. In the United States, about one in four adults have elevated blood pressure. Sodium intake is only one of the factors known to affect high blood pressure, and not everyone is equally susceptible. The sensitivity to sodium seems to be very individualized. Usually, the older one is the more sensitive they are to salt.

Soluble fibre

Soluble fibre is not typically found in foods most people think of as fibre, such as bran or raw leafy green vegetables. Soluble fibre is the single greatest dietary aid for preventing Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms in the first place, as well as relieving them once they occur. Soluble fibre is also found in foods commonly thought of as starches, though soluble fibre itself differs from starch as the chemical bonds that join its individual sugar units cannot be digested by enzymes in the human GI tract. Soluble fibre also has no calories because it passes through the body intact.

Sorbitol

Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol the body metabolises slowly. Sorbitol is a sugar substitute often used in diet foods (including diet drinks) and sugar-free chewing gum. It also occurs naturally in many stone fruits and berries from trees of the genus Sorbus[1].

Sorbitol is also referred to as a nutritive sweetener because it provides calories or energy to the diet: 2.6 calories (11 kilojoules) per gram versus the average 4 calories (17 kJ) of sugar and starch, while retaining 50% of the sweetness.

Spirulina

Spirulina is a tiny aquatic plant that offers 60% all-vegetable protein, essential vitamins and phytonutrients such as the antioxidant beta carotene, the rare essential fatty acid GLA, sulfolipids, glycolipids and polysaccharides. Spirulina, also known as arthrospira platensis, is an edible algae that has a long history of safe human consumption and over 30 years of safety testing.

There are family species of microalgae such as blue-green algae spirulina and aphanizomenon, and green algae chlorella and dunaliella. For years, researchers in Japan, China, India, Europe, Russia and the USA have been discovering why spirulina is so effective for human and animal health. Hundreds of published studies reveal how spirulina, its unique phytonutrients and its extracts boost the immune system, prevent disease and improve health. Its deep green color comes from its rainbow of natural pigments - chlorophyll (green), phycocyanin (blue) and carotenoids (orange) that harvest the sun's energy.

Spirulina's easy to digest nutrients are absorbed quickly to give you one of the world's healthiest super foods that is rich in beta carotene and phytonutrients. See AdaptoGreen+ for more information.

Sterol

A sterol is any of a class of solid cyclic alcohols, found in both plants (e.g. campesterol, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol) and animals (e.g. cholesterol).

Stigmasterol

Stigmasterol is an unsaturated plant sterol occurring in the plant fats or oils of soybean, calabar bean, and rape seed, and in a number of medicinal herbs, including the Chinese herbs Ophiopogon japonicus, or Mai men dong, and American Ginseng.

Stigmasterol is also found in various vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and unpasteurized milk. It is used as a precursor in the manufacture of synthetic progesterone, a valuable human hormone that plays an important physiological role in the regulatory and tissue rebuilding mechanisms related to estrogen effects, as well as acting as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of androgens, estrogens, and corticoids.

Sugar Alcohol

Sugar alcohols, sometimes called polyols, are a class of carbohydrates that are more slowly or incompletely absorbed by the human digestive system than sugars. Common sugar alcohols include sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, and xylitol. Sugar alcohols contribute less Calories to the diet than most other types of carbohydrates, but may cause digestive discomfort.