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Medical and Healthy Living Glossary - F

This page of our online glossary of medical and healthy living is for medical and healthy living terms beginning with the letter 'F'.

• FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The FAO works to improve agricultural practices, facilitate trade between nations, and improve the quality and quantity of the food supply.
• FDA - The United States Food and Drug Administration. It is responsible for regulating many foods and all drugs.
• Fetus - The stage of human development, from about 8 weeks after fertilization until birth, marked by rapid growth. Before this it is called an embryo.
• Fibrin - Protein produced by fibrinogen which is involved in blood clotting and wound healing.
• Fluid Balance - To function properly the body needs to maintain a healthy level of fluid. Usually, the balance remains quite constant no matter how much liquid someone drinks. Electrolytes help to regulate it, and the kidneys also play their part by adjusting the water content of the urine. However, illness can upset the body's fluid balance; diarrhoea can cause excessive fluid loss leading to dehydration, while in oedema, or dropsy, too much fluid is retained in the tissues, causing eitherlocal or general swelling.
• Folate - The term commonly used to describe any compound or mixture of compounds derived from folic acid. Good sources of folate are liver, yeast extract and green leafy vegetables, such as cabbage and spinach. The vitamin promotes the breakdown and use of proteins and also helps to form red and white blood cells.
• Folic Acid - One of the B vitamins which works along with vitamin B12 to produce the genetic materials DNA and RNA. Folic acid can be found in milk, liver, yeast and green vegetables such as spinach. It is essential for creating new blood cells.
• Food Allergy - An allergy to a specific food such as nuts, which causes a severe reaction that may even lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
• Food Intolerance - An adverse reaction to certain foods such as eggs, oranges, tomatoes and strawberries.
• Food Poisoning - An illness that occurs due to eating a harmful food. Food poisoning can be caused by chemicals, germs, or naturally occurring substances in the food.
• Foodborne Illness - An infectious disease caused by pathogens in food.
• Free Radicals - In general chemical terms, molecules or ions that have unpaired electrons in their structure and which as a result are very reactive indeed.
• Fungicide - Chemicals used to kill or suppress fungi.