Cerebrovascular disease Damage to blood vessels in the brain that occurs when vessels burst and bleed or become clogged with fatty deposits. When blood flow is interrupted, brain cells die or are damaged, resulting in a stroke.

Chemesthesis Sensations that arise when chemical compounds activate receptor mechanisms for other senses, usually those involved in pain, touch, and thermal perception in the eye, nose, mouth, and throat.

Cholesterol A waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body; high levels of cholesterol in the blood can increase the risk of heart disease.

Congestive heart failure Inability to pump enough blood to avoid congestion in the tissues.

CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest

CVD Cardiovascular disease

Daily Value (DV) A term on food labels based on the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) designed to help consumers use food label information to plan a healthful diet. DV declarations within the Nutrition Facts panel play an important role in informing consumers about the nutritional content of the packaged foods they purchase by placing the food’s nutritional contribution within the context of a total daily diet, the general target toward which consumers should strive.

DASH Diet Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension: a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and reduced in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol.

DGAC Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Diastolic blood pressure The minimum pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans A federal summary of dietary guidance for the American public based on current scientific evidence and medical knowledge. The guidelines are issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are revised every 5 years.

Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) A set of four distinct nutrient-based reference values that replaced the former Recommended Dietary Allowance in the United States. These include Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Adequate Intake (AI), and Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL).

Disappearance data Data that refer to food and nutrients that disappear from the marketplace. The term refers to food and nutrient availability for a population that is calculated from national or regional statistics by the inventory-style method.