Decylpolyglucose
A mild cleansing agent made from corn and glucose.

Deglycyrrhizinated
A safe form of licorice that has had the glycyrrhetinic acid removed (glycyrrhetinic acid raises blood pressure).

Dilution
A process for producing remedies, especially in homeopathy, that deconcentrates active ingredients of vegetable, mineral or animal origin.  Successive dilutions are carried out according to the Hahnemanian method, to 1/10 (Decimal D), or 1/100 (Centesimal CH) of the raw materail.  Each homeopathic remedy is labeled with the number of dilutions.  For example, Arnica 5CH or 7CH indicates that the base ingredient has been diluted 5 or 7 times, one to one hundredths.

Dolisos
Taken from the latin "Dol", which means pain and the greek "Iso", which means similar.  This is the basis of homeopathy.

Drainage
A therapeutic method that reactivates the functioning of organs or systems, facilitating the elimination of toxins.

Elastin
Highly elastic albumin-like protein fiber found in the dermis, blood vessels, capillaries and other elastic tissue in the body. Allows skin to stretch then “snap back” when we are young; contributes to sagging skin as the quality of elastin is reduced with age. (Animal origin by-product)

Enteric-coated
A coating that prevents a tablet or capsule from being digested until it reaches the small intestine.

Enzyme/Coenzyme
Complex protein compounds found in living cells which speed biochemical reactions. Thousands of different enzymes are manufactured in the human body. Enzymes are the catalysts for all metabolic reactions. The skin is the body’s largest enzyme-producing organ. (Vegetable and animal origins.) A coenzyme works with an enzyme to produce a particular reaction.

Essential Oils, Descriptions of; See also, All About Aromatherapy

Extract, Herbal (Fluid)
An extract of an herb that is made according to official (and unofficial) pharmaceutical practice, with a strength of 1:1. That means each ounce of the fluid extract has the solutes found in an ounce of the dried herb. Advantageous for some herbs (such as Arctium or Taraxacum), where the active constituents retain the same proportions as in the plant, even though reduced to a very small volume of menstruum, it is deadly for others (such as Hydrastis or Lobelia), whose constituents may have wildly varying solubility, and whose fluid extract will contain only the most soluble constituents and lack others completely. The gradual disappearance of herbal preparations in Standard Medicine in the 1930s can partly be attributed to the almost complete reliance on fluid extracts. Some manufacturers (notably Lilly and SK&F) sold Tinctures (1:5 strength and meant to, at the least, contain EVERYTHING in the plant) that were made from diluted fluid extracts. Some fluid extracts were even made from dilutions of what were termed Solid Extracts....heat-evaporated tars, easy to store, easy to make in huge labor-minimal batches, where 100 pounds of Blue Cohosh could be reduced to 25 pounds of solid extract. This convenience pitch, with many constituents oxidized by heat, others never even extracted, could be diluted four times to sell as a fluid extract, TWENTY time to market as a tincture. These practices by American pharmaceutical manufacturers, with eyes perhaps on the larger drug trade (the use of crude drugs being a diminished part of their commerce, yet needing MANY different preparations...and being labor-intensive and profit-minimal...and sort of old-fashioned) ended up supplying terminally impaired products. Their value being reduced, physicians relied more and more on mainstream pharmaceuticals...and the medical use of whole plant preparations died.

Fat-soluble
Compounds which are stored in the liver and fatty tissues of the body, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Fatty acids
A fat soluble acid, found in the epidermis and in cosmetic products. Key components of lipids required in the body for cell membrane function and integrity, healthy skin, cholesterol metabolism, and prostaglandin production. Fatty acids can be saturated (acetic, butyric, palmitic acids), monounsaturated (oleic acid), or polyunsaturated (linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic acids).

Fiber

Flavinoids (aka: Vitamin P)
A variety of over 3000 plant chemicals with a characteristic yellow color (flavis is yellow in Latin), they are the most prevalent pigments in the plant kingdom next to chlorophyll and carotenoids. All flavonoids are anti-oxidants; some are also circulatory stimulants, anti-irritants, anti-inflammatory or diuretics. Anthocyanins, anthoxanthins, apigenins, flavones, isoflavones, flavonois and bioflavonols are all flavonoids.
 

Flavonoids
Another name for bioflavonoids.

Folic acid
A member of the B vitamin complex essential for normal growth, reproduction, and the formation of heme, the iron-containing protein in hemoglobin.

Freeze-dried
A solid substance isolated from a solution by freezing the solution and evaporating the ice under vacuum.

Fructose
A simple sugar which occurs naturally in fruit or honey.

Fumarate
A compound formed when a mineral (usually iron) is bound to fumaric acid.

GABA
Gamma-aminobutyric acid, a chemical associated with nervous system function.

Germanium
A trace mineral.

Glucans
Polysaccharides with immune stimulating abilities; found on the cell walls of yeast, oat, barley and other plants.

Gluconate
A compound formed when a mineral is bound to gluconic acid.

Glucosamine
A compound manufactured from glucose used in building cartilage.

Glutamic acid/Glutamine
A nonessential amino acid which serves primarily as a brain fuel; the precursor to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

GMO
Genetically Modified Organism. Genetically engineered soybeans were developed to yield larger harvests at reduced costs. Developed by transplanting a target protein, derived froma type of bacterium commonly found in soil, to make the plant resistant to herbicides, which is used to treat many soybeans fields.

Granules -- see pellets

HCl
The chemical symbol for hydrochloric acid, which plays an important role in the digestion of proteins.

(HPUS) The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States

Herbal, Preparations

Hesperidin
A bioflavonoid derived from citrus fruit.

Homeopathy
A system of alternative medicine that seeks to treat patients by administering small doses of medicines that would bring on symptoms similar to those of the patient in a healthy person.

Hormones
They are chemical messengers within the body that tell cells what to do. Hormones control a wide range of bodily functions including reproduction, sex drive, sleep, immunity, and digestion, to the ability to think and talk. The skin is the largest hormone-producing organ of the body. Certain key hormones decline, notably DHEA.

Inositol
A water-soluble chemical compound closely related to glucose, stored largely in the brain, heart muscle, and skeletal muscle. Inositol has a lipotropic effect and may aid in the metabolism of fats.

Iodine
An essential nutrient used in producing thyroid hormones which affect physical and mental growth, the functioning of nerves and muscles, and metabolism.

Iron
An essential mineral needed to build red blood cells, available in food as heme (organic) or non-heme (non-organic) iron. Heme iron is absorbed more efficiently.

Isoflavones
A group of compounds found in soy that are largely responsible for soy's health benefits. The two most prominent isoflavones are genistein and daidzein.

Jing
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a vital basic within the body; usually translated as "essence." Crucial to the development of the individual throughout life.

Kelp
Another name for seaweed, which is rich in iodine and other nutrients, including most water-soluble vitamins.

Krebs cycle
The final chemical pathway in the conversion of nutrients to energy. 

Lactate
A compound formed when a mineral is bound to lactic acid.

Lauryl Glucoside
A powerful grease-cutting surfactant that is mild & biodegrades quickly. It is made by combining glucose from corn with fatty alcohols from coconut & palm kernel oils. 

Lecithin
A versatile phospholipid found in all living organisms. Phospholipids are structural components of cell membranes, potential energy sources, and components of certain enzymes. Lecithin is a well-known fat emulsifier.

Lipase
A fat-digesting enzyme.

Lysine
An essential amino acid required for growth; helps the body effectively use fatty acids for energy production.

Lysozyme
An enzyme that digests certain high molecular weight carbohydrates.

Macrocystis pyrifera
A Pacific kelp rich in trace minerals such as selenium.

Magnesium
An essential mineral found in bones, teeth, and red blood cells, magnesium activates many enzyme systems (such as those involved in protein digestion and energy production); affects calcium metabolism; and relaxes nerve impulses and muscle contractions.

Malate
A compound formed when a mineral is bound to malic acid.

Manganese
An essential mineral which activates enzyme systems involved in protein and energy metabolisin. Manganese is involved in connective tissue and bone formation, insulin action, and cholesterol synthesis.

Metabolism
The chemical reactions that break down food into usable nutrients for immediate energy, and build nutrient molecules into more complex molecules for specific body functions.

Methylparaben

Methylparaben
A gentle and safe preservative.

Methionine
An essential amino acid which contains sulfur.

Mineral
A chemical element found in the ash that remains after a food or body tissue is burned. Macrominerals (such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium) are required in larger amounts than microminerals (such as chromium, manganese, selenium, and zinc). Minerals serve many purposes in the human body.