289 articles
Food energy
Food energy is metabolizable energy from food, measured in kcal or kJ and usually calculated with Atwater factors (4/9/4 kcal per g protein/carbohydrate/fat), which overestimate energy from intact plant foods like almonds.
Food fortification
Food fortification, also known as food enrichment or nutrification, is the deliberate addition of vitamins and minerals to foods, notably iodized salt since 1924, to improve public health.
Food frequency questionnaire
A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a dietary survey asking how often, and in what portions, people ate listed foods over about a year, typically taking 10–20 minutes.
Food group
Food group: a category of foods with similar nutritional roles used in dietary guidance. U.S. history runs from the 1916 five-group guide through Basic Seven, Basic Four, the Food Guide Pyramid, MyPyramid, MyPlate, and the 2025-2030 inverted pyramid.
Food pyramid (nutrition)
Food pyramid (nutrition): triangular food-guide graphic, first devised in Sweden 1974, best known as the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (1992, 6-11 grain servings), replaced by MyPyramid 2005 and MyPlate 2011, revived inverted in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines.
Food stamp challenge
Food stamp challenge (SNAP challenge): week-long exercise living on the average SNAP benefit, from the 2007 $21/week congressional challenge to Gwyneth Paltrow's $29 week; used to debate benefit adequacy.
Food4Me trial
Food4Me trial: six-month web-based randomized controlled trial of personalized nutrition in seven European countries (1,607 adults, NCT01530139), part of the EU FP7 Food4Me project (2011-2015). Personalized advice improved diets versus conventional advice, but genotype-based advice added no benefit.
Foodstuff
Foodstuff: legal and trade term for any material intended to be eaten, chewed, or drunk by humans, in changed or unchanged state; synonymous with "food" in Codex Alimentarius usage.
Forever Living Products
Forever Living Products (FLP), founded by Rex Maughan in 1978, is a Scottsdale, Arizona aloe vera MLM selling through Forever Business Owners in 160+ countries; the FTC's April 2026 order barred deceptive earnings claims and the U.S. sponsorship model ends May 1, 2026.
Fructooligosaccharide
Fructooligosaccharide (FOS), also known as oligofructose, is a prebiotic fiber and low-calorie sweetener found in chicory, onion, and banana, fermented in the colon to boost beneficial Bifidobacterium.
G. Edward Griffin
G. Edward Griffin, born George Edward Griffin in 1931, is an American author and filmmaker known for The Creature from Jekyll Island and conspiracy-oriented books.
Geritol
Geritol: American supplement brand launched in 1950 as an iron and B-vitamin tonic for "tired blood"; famous 1950s TV ads, $812,000 FTC fine in 1965, now sold as a liquid and a 27-nutrient multivitamin.
Glucomannan
Glucomannan (konjac glucomannan, KGM, E425) is a highly viscous soluble fiber from Amorphophallus konjac, used for cholesterol, weight, and constipation; requires water to avoid obstruction.
Glucose syrup
Glucose syrup, also called corn syrup when made from cornstarch, is a purified concentrated aqueous solution of dextrose, maltose, and dextrins from partial starch hydrolysis, graded by dextrose equivalent and used to sweeten and prevent sugar crystallization.
Government cheese
Government cheese: USDA-purchased American cheese distributed to low-income Americans, iconic 1980s 5-pound blocks from dairy price support surpluses; TEFAP distribution, 2014 Farm Act repeal, 2016 $20 million buyback.
Grape seed extract
Grape seed extract (Vitis vinifera seed extract, GSE), a proanthocyanidin-rich dietary supplement and food ingredient. Evidence supports modest LDL/triglyceride and diastolic blood pressure effects; GRAS in the US, regulated in Canada and the EU.
Growth chart
Growth charts are percentile curves tracking children's weight, length, head circumference, and BMI by age and sex. Key sets are the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards (0-59 months, MGRS, six countries) and the 2000 CDC reference charts (US, 1963-1994).
Grüns
Grüns is a US gummy supplement brand founded in 2023 by Chad Janis, selling Superfoods Greens Gummies (8-gummy daily packs, 60+ ingredients, 6 g fiber); acquired by Unilever on 1 June 2026.
Gwen Shamblin Lara
Gwen Shamblin Lara, known as Gwen Shamblin, was an American diet guru who founded the Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship Church and died in a 2021 plane crash.
Haematococcus pluvialis astaxanthin extract
Haematococcus pluvialis astaxanthin extract: oleoresin from the green microalga H. pluvialis, the richest natural astaxanthin source (up to 5.5% dry weight); FDA GRAS (GRN 294, 580), EU novel food limit 8 mg/day.
Haptocorrin
Haptocorrin (R-binder, transcobalamin I, TCN1) is a 60–70 kDa salivary glycoprotein that binds vitamin B12, protects it from stomach acid, and carries 70–80% of circulating B12 to the liver.
Health effects of sunlight exposure
Health effects of sunlight exposure: UV radiation (UVA 315–400 nm, UVB 280–315 nm) causes sunburn, skin cancers, cataracts, and immunosuppression, while UVB enables vitamin D synthesis; UVA may lower blood pressure via nitric oxide.
Health effects of vitamin D
The health effects of vitamin D beyond deficiency: large randomized trials find near-null results for fractures, cardiovascular events, cancer, and respiratory infections in healthy adults.
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296, S. 3307), US law signed December 13, 2010 reauthorizing child nutrition and WIC programs; set stricter school meal standards, created the Community Eligibility Provision, and its milk rules were reversed by the 2026 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
Hitting the wall
Hitting the wall, also called bonking, is the sudden debilitating fatigue striking marathon runners late in a race, typically after the 20-mile mark, conventionally attributed to depleted glycogen stores.
Hominy
Hominy: dried corn kernels treated with an alkali (lye or limewater) via nixtamalization, removing the hull; the Nahuatl-derived nixtamal. Basis of pozole, menudo, grits, and masa; adds calcium and improves niacin bioavailability.
Human body weight
Human body weight is the total mass of the body, including muscle, bone, fat, and water. Assessed via BMI (weight/height²), waist circumference, and body composition; obesity at BMI 30+, malnutrition at BMI under 18.5 or 10% unintentional loss.
Human nutrition
Human nutrition: the science of consuming, absorbing, and using nutrients for life and health. Covers macronutrients, micronutrients, bioavailability, DRIs, dietary guidelines, and evidence methods.
Hunger in the United States
Hunger in the United States is tracked officially as food insecurity, not hunger: USDA's CPS survey found 13.7% of households food insecure in 2024; SNAP (renamed from food stamps in 2008) is the main response, and the annual survey was discontinued in 2025.
Hunger Plan
The Hunger Plan, also known as der Backe-Plan, was a Nazi plan of 1941 to seize Soviet food for Germany, deliberately starving millions of Soviet citizens.