Like every discipline, nutrition has its own particular language. This chart clues you in to several prefixes and suffixes that can make deciphering nutrition-speak a cinch.
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| amyl- | starch |
| an- | without |
| anti- | against |
| -ase | an enzyme |
| di- | two |
| -emia | found in the blood |
| gastro- | referring to the stomach |
| gly- | referring to sugars |
| hydr-, hydro- | water (also: hydrogen) |
| hyper- | above normal |
| hypo- | below normal |
| lact-, lacti-, lacto- | milk |
| lip-, lipo- | fat |
| macro- | large |
| micro- | very small |
| mono- | one |
| -ose | sugar |
| tri- | three |
