Metabolism	The chemical reactions that go on in the body. Often used to refer to aerobic respiration.
Metabolic rate	The amount of energy needed to keep the body alive. Usually measured as the amount of aerobic respiration.
Thyroid hormones	Also known as T3 and T4. They increase the metabolic rate.
Anabolism	Building up body compounds (like fat or muscle)
Anabolic steroids	Hormones based on testosterone, which cause the body to perform anabolism
Catabolism	The breaking down of large molecules into small ones, which can be either released into the blood or metabolized for energy
Catabolic hormones	Hormones that cause catabolism. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and glucagon
Digestion	The actual breaking down of food molecules into smaller molecules
Absorbtion	The process of moving digested food from the GI tract into the blood
Lipoproteins	Lipids with a protein coating on them, so they can travel in the blood without coming together in large blobs.
Chylomicrons	The biggest lipoproteins, produced by the intestines and sent to the liver
VLDLs and LDLs, or ‘bad cholesterol’	Very low density – and low density-lipoproteins. These deliver fat to cells.
HDLs or ‘good cholesterol’	These pick up fat from cells where it is stored and take it to cells that are going to burn it for fuel.
Insulin	A hormone produced by the pancreas after you eat. It allows cells to pick up food so they can either store it or burn it to make ATP.
Glucagon	A hormone produced by the pancreas when your blood sugar is low (your GLUcose is GONe). It makes cells release stored foods into the blood so other cells can get them.
Ketones	When you break down stored protein and fat , the amino acids and fatty acids released into the blood are converted into ketones by the liver. The brain can use ketones for food.
Glycogen	Means ‘sugar maker.’ This is the form in which sugar is stored in your cells.