Cage-free hens aren't confined to crowded pens in the coop. The USDA doesn't regulate the term, but the "United Egg Producers' and "American Humane Association" labels help ensure producers meet strict standards for pecking space and ventilation.

Of all the essential minerals in the human body, calcium is the most abundant. Calcium helps the body form bones and teeth and is required for blood clotting, transmitting signals in nerve cells, and muscle contraction. Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis; of the two to three pounds of calcium contained in the human body, 99% is located in the bones and teeth.

Calcium also seems to play a role in lowering blood pressure, and has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Calcium is a mineral present in large amounts in dairy foods, such as milk, cheese and yoghurt. It is also found in calcium-fortified soy drinks, canned salmon with bones, sardines, oysters, almonds, sesame seeds and tahini. Calcium is important for building strong bones and teeth. Having enough calcium during childhood and teenage years is very important in fighting against bone loss and osteoporosis,(a condition where the bones are weak and break easily) in later life.

Calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. One calorie is formally defined as the amount of energy required to raise one cubic centimeter of water by one degree centigrade. For the purpose of measuring the amount of energy in food, nutritionists most commonly use kilocalories (equal to 1,000 calories), and label the measurement either as kcal or as Calories with a capital C. One kcal is also equivalent to approximately 4.184 kilojoules. Carbohydrates, fats, protein, and alcohol in the foods and drinks we eat provide food energy or calories. Carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram, fat has 9 calories per gram, and alcohol has 7 calories per gram.

The balance between calories you get from eating and drinking and those you use up through physical activity and body processes like breathing, digesting food, and, in children, growing.

See Sterol.

A carb is a major source of energy for your body. Your digestive system changes carbohydrates into blood glucose (sugar). Your body uses this sugar to make energy for cells, tissues, and organs, and stores any extra sugar in your liver and muscles for when it is needed. If there is more sugar than the body can use, the liver may also break the sugar down further and store it as body fat.

Heart disease as well as diseases of the blood vessel system (arteries, capillaries, veins) that can lead to heart attack, chest pain (angina), or stroke.

Carotene is a substance found in some food, which is converted to vitamin A in the body.  There are three types: alpha, beta and gamma carotene. Beta carotene has the greatest level of vitamin A activity. The richest food sources of beta carotene include orange and yellow fruit and vegetables, such as carrots, pumpkin, mangoes, oranges, mandarins, pawpaw, rockmelons, apricots and yellow peaches.

Carotenoids are natural fat-soluble pigments found in certain plants. Carotenoids provide the bright red, orange, or yellow coloration of many vegetables, serve as antioxidants, and can be a source for vitamin A activity.

A milk protein sometimes used in otherwise non-dairy products like soymilk, soy cheese and non-dairy creamer. Many soy cheeses contain casein, which may be problematic to those with dairy sensitivities. Always read labels.

These flavonoids, or potent antioxidants, found in green tea, are cancer inhibitors, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Material derived from the bodies of insects.

See Vitamin D.

May be one of two different types:

a) Blood cholesterol is a fatty substance normally produced by the body and carried by the blood. There are two different types: LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) and HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol). High levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood are risk factors for heart disease and atherosclerosis.

b) Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal foods (offal, fatty meats and poultry, eggs, full fat milk, full fat cheese etc.). The potential for dietary cholesterol to raise blood cholesterol is much less than the"saturated fat" (see below) in food that has the most powerful effect on raising blood cholesterol.

Chronic diseases are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are by far the leading cause of mortality in the world, representing 63% of all deaths. (http://www.who.int/topics/chronic_diseases/en/).