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GALACTOSE is a monosaccharide. It is a
white crystalline substance which resembles glucose in most of its properties,
but is less soluble, less sweet and forms mucic acid when oxidized with nitric
acid. Galactose is an isomer of glucose, and is formed along with glucose
during the hydrolysis of lactose. Galactose is readily absorbed in the
digestive tract; it is converted into glycogen in the liver. D-Galactose is
found in milk sugar, in the cerebrosides of the brain, in the sugar beet, and
in many gums and seaweed; L-Galactose is found in flaxseed mucilage.
GALLBLADDER is located on the
undersurface of the liver's right lobe. The gallbladder is a transparent,
pear-shaped sac which stores and concentrates bile. Bile, a bluish-green fluid,
is secreted from the liver cells, stored in the gallbladder, and excreted
through the common bile duct into part of the small intestine during digestion.
Bile is essential for the digestion and absorption of fats.
GALLIC ACID is a phenolic acid found in
tannic acid, henna, and many other plants. Gallic acid has carcinogenic
properties; it can also exert anticarcinogenic activity on cancerous cells in
animals. Gallic acid may be responsible for some human cancers. Gallic acid
also has antibacterial activity and is a mild local irritant and is used
therapeutically as an astringent.
GASTROENTERITIS is the inflammation of
the stomach or intestinal tract.
GENETIC ENGINEERING: Tampering with
chromosomes so that science might develop a new miracle cure or a rabbit that
plays the banjo.
GENTIANINE is an alkaloid found in
gentian and other plants. Gentianine has shown high anti-inflammatory
properties on experimental animals. Gential extracts that contain gentianine
have been used in some antismoking formulae, and in tonic preparations.
GENTIAN (Gentiana lutea) Family:
Gentianaceae This plant has a thick, branching, yellowish-brown root that
produces a hollow, erect stem reaching four feet in height. The stem bears
opposite obovate leaves which are bright green, sessile, and have five
prominent veins. Lower leaves are also present and emerge from the root. Large,
orange-yellow flowers bloom from July to August, appearing in the upper leaf
axils, growing in whorls of 3 to 10 blossoms. The fruit is an obovate
capsule.
Common names: Balmony, Bitter root,
Bitterwort, European gentian, Felwort, Fillwort, Pale gentian, Yellow
gentian.
Habitat: Native of the alpine and sub-alpine
pastures of southern and central Europe. It is also found in Asia Minor and is
cultivated in the United States.
Medicinal parts: root and rhizomes - collected
in the late summer and autumn, then dried slowly.
For more information see the HERBS section of
the Nutrition Notebook.
GINSENG is a small woodland plant
indigenous to the mountain forests of Asia from Nepal to Manchuria, and is
cultivated primarily in Korea. The plant has a perennial root which annually
produces a smooth, round stem that reaches one foot in height. The stem
terminates by dividing into two to three stalked compound leaves which consists
of five to seven petiolate, oblong-ovate, serrate leaflets. A solitary, simple
umbel of greenish-yellow flowers grows from the top of the stem blooming from
June to August. The fruit is a red, kidney-shaped berry. The medicinal part is
the root..
Other common names for this plant are: Asiatic
Ginger, Chinese Ginseng, Wander-of-the-world.
For more information see the HERBS section of
the Nutrition Notebook.
GLUCURONIC ACID is a sugar found
throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. Glucuronic acid is used by the liver
to detoxify poisonous substances which contain hydroxyl groups (e.g., alcohol).
The liver combines glucuronic acid with the toxic substance to form
glucuronides, which may then be excreted through the urine. Some toxic
substances excreted through this method are well known drugs, such as morphine,
menthol, and salicylic acid.
GLUCOSE (Dextrose) is found extensively
among plants such as polysaccharides, cellulose and starch. Dextrose is a
common sugar found in most organisms, and is the principal source of energy for
living organisms. Dextrose is transformed into other sugars, fatty acids, and
many other compounds in the body. Glucose may be stored in the body as
glycogen.
GLUCOSIDE is a plant substance that
yields a glucose and one or two additional products upon hydrolysis. Digitalin,
used in the treatment of certain heart diseases, is a mixture of glycosides
from the digitalis plant.
GLUCURONIC ACID is a sugar found
throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. Glucuronic acid is used by the liver
to detoxify poisonous substances which contain hydroxyl groups (e.g., alcohol).
The liver combines glucuronic acid with the toxic substance to form
glucuronides, which may then be excreted through the urine. Some toxic
substances excreted through this method are well known drugs, such as morphine,
menthol, and salicylic acid.
GLUTEN (alpha-gliadin) is the insoluble
protein found in wheat, rye, oats, barley, and buckwheat which gives the dough
its tough elastic character. Also found in vegetables such as beans, cabbage,
turnips, dried peas and cucumber. Many individuals have an allergic
hypersensitivity to this substance.
GLYCOGEN , a polysaccharide commonly
called animal starch, is the chief storage form of carbohydrates in the liver,
muscles and other tissues. It is readily converted into glucose as the needs of
the body require.
GLYCOLYSIS is the anaerobic enzymatic
energy-yielding breakdown of glucose into pyruvic acid or lactic acid.
GLYCOSIDE is a substance derived from
plants which upon hydrolysis yields a simple carbohydrate and one or more
additional products. Glucosides and galactosides are two examples of
glycosides.
GLYCRRHIZIN is a triterpene glycoside
found in licorice root and other plants. Glycyrrhizin has many pharmacological
properties, including antiulceric, hypotensive, and estrogenic activities in
animals. Glycyrrhizin can be found in licorice root extracts, which are use in
cough drops, tonics, and laxatives.
GOING STEADY: Something like a
tourniquet. It stops your circulation.
GOTU COLA is native to the warmer
regions of both hemispheres. This slender, creeping herb is especially abundant
in the swampy areas of India and Sri Lanka, in South Africa, and in the
tropical regions of the new world.
Other common names for this plant are: Asiatic
Pennywort, Indian Pennywort, Thickleaved Pennywort.
For more information see the HERBS section of
the Nutrition Notebook.
GUM is a substance exuded from a number
of trees and shrubs. Gum is tick when wet; when dried it forms a hard, brittle
mass.
GYNECOLOGIST: Ladies' man.
GYNECOMASTIA refers to the enlargement
of male breasts, even to a functional state. |
