NASM NUTRITION CERTIFICATION
UPDATED ACTUAL 2026 TEST QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Vitamin E - ✔✔A class of compounds - the most common ones are known as the
tocopherols and the tocotrienols, each of which have four types: alpha, beta, gamma,
and delta. Vitamin E is one of the main antioxidant molecules in the body and it protects
cells from oxidative damage.
✔✔Vitamin K - ✔✔A family of compounds that have a similar structure and function -
they are involved in regulating blood clotting as well as calcium metabolism.
✔✔Calcium - ✔✔A mineral that is required for life and helps the body build bones and
maintain their strength.
✔✔Osteoporosis - ✔✔A condition of weakened bones where bones lose their density -
calcium is a key piece of bone structure and calcium deficiency can lead to
osteoporosis.
✔✔Chromium - ✔✔An essential trace mineral that can improve insulin sensitivity and
enhance macronutrient metabolism.
,✔✔Trace Element - ✔✔An element that is only required in minute amounts in the
human body.
✔✔Redox System - ✔✔The process and reaction between two substances in which one
substance is oxidized and the other reduced.
✔✔Nonessential Mineral - ✔✔Minerals that are not required for human function and/or
optimal health.
✔✔Goiter - ✔✔The swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland.
✔✔Hypothyroidism - ✔✔A condition in which your thyroid does not produce enough
thyroid hormones.
✔✔Myoglobin - ✔✔A protein that carries and stores oxygen in muscle cells.
✔✔Heme - ✔✔A form of dietary iron found only in animal meat.
✔✔Nonheme - ✔✔A form of dietary iron found in plant-based foods.
✔✔Magnesium - ✔✔A mineral that is required for energy production, oxidative
phosphorylation, and glycolysis.
✔✔Mercury - ✔✔A trace element that finds its way into the human diet, has no
necessary function, and is highly toxic, especially during development in utero and early
childhood.
✔✔Potassium - ✔✔A mineral that is present in all tissues in the body and is required for
maintaining concentration gradients, fluid volume, and cardiac rhythm.
✔✔Hypokalemia - ✔✔A condition where the concentration of potassium in the blood
drops below normal levels.
✔✔Selenium - ✔✔The key component of several selenoproteins that serve as
antioxidants or in the regeneration of antioxidants.
✔✔Sodium - ✔✔A mineral that is present in virtually every tissue of the body and is
essential for maintaining gradient balance, fluid status, and cardiac rhythm.
✔✔Hyponatremia - ✔✔A condition where the concentration of sodium in the blood
drops below normal levels - this often happens when people sweat a lot or consume too
much water and not enough electrolytes.
, ✔✔Zinc - ✔✔A mineral that provides structure to cells and helps reactions occur - it is
the most abundant intracellular of the trace elements and plays regulatory roles in
transcription via transcription factors, stabilizes nucleic acids, and is neccesary for the
creation of tubulin, giving cells their internal rigid structure and allowing them to properly
maintain their shape and function.
✔✔Bioavailability - ✔✔The extent to which an ingredient, food, or other substance is
absorbed by the body.
✔✔Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) - ✔✔A nutrient intake value that is estimated
to meet the requirement of half the healthy individuals in a group.
✔✔Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) - ✔✔The highest level of daily nutrient intake that
is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general
population - as intake increases above the UL, the risk of adverse effects increases.
✔✔Intracellular Fluid (ICF) - ✔✔The water contained within a cell's membrane, makes
up approximately 2/3 of total body water.
✔✔Extracellular Fluid (ECF) - ✔✔The water found outside of the body's cells - ECF is
found between cells and transported throughout the body via arteries, veins, and
capillaries.
✔✔Osmolality - ✔✔Describes the concentration of solutes in a liquid - various
compartments hold fluids but the primary regulator of hydration status is the osmolality
of ECF, specifically plasma osmolality. Multiple sites in the body house osmoreceptors
that detect shifts in osmolality and generate responses to return the body to fluid and
sodium homeostasis.
✔✔Dipsogenic Signal - ✔✔Physiological factors such as high osmolality or low blood
pressure, which prompt sodium and water appetite.
✔✔Baroreceptors - ✔✔Specialized nerves that can sense change in pressure in the
heart or blood vessels.
✔✔Hypo-Osmotic - ✔✔A solution with a lesser concentration of solute (i.e., fresh water
compared to salt water).
✔✔Gastric Emptying Rate (GER) - ✔✔The rate at which fluids and their contents pass
through the stomach via the pyloric sphincter and into the small intestine - the faster and
more complete the GER, the more quickly carbohydrates and electrolytes can be
absorbed into the mesentery system, where they feed the liver first and then the rest of
the body via the vascular system.
✔✔Convection - ✔✔The movement or flow of air over an object.
UPDATED ACTUAL 2026 TEST QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Vitamin E - ✔✔A class of compounds - the most common ones are known as the
tocopherols and the tocotrienols, each of which have four types: alpha, beta, gamma,
and delta. Vitamin E is one of the main antioxidant molecules in the body and it protects
cells from oxidative damage.
✔✔Vitamin K - ✔✔A family of compounds that have a similar structure and function -
they are involved in regulating blood clotting as well as calcium metabolism.
✔✔Calcium - ✔✔A mineral that is required for life and helps the body build bones and
maintain their strength.
✔✔Osteoporosis - ✔✔A condition of weakened bones where bones lose their density -
calcium is a key piece of bone structure and calcium deficiency can lead to
osteoporosis.
✔✔Chromium - ✔✔An essential trace mineral that can improve insulin sensitivity and
enhance macronutrient metabolism.
,✔✔Trace Element - ✔✔An element that is only required in minute amounts in the
human body.
✔✔Redox System - ✔✔The process and reaction between two substances in which one
substance is oxidized and the other reduced.
✔✔Nonessential Mineral - ✔✔Minerals that are not required for human function and/or
optimal health.
✔✔Goiter - ✔✔The swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland.
✔✔Hypothyroidism - ✔✔A condition in which your thyroid does not produce enough
thyroid hormones.
✔✔Myoglobin - ✔✔A protein that carries and stores oxygen in muscle cells.
✔✔Heme - ✔✔A form of dietary iron found only in animal meat.
✔✔Nonheme - ✔✔A form of dietary iron found in plant-based foods.
✔✔Magnesium - ✔✔A mineral that is required for energy production, oxidative
phosphorylation, and glycolysis.
✔✔Mercury - ✔✔A trace element that finds its way into the human diet, has no
necessary function, and is highly toxic, especially during development in utero and early
childhood.
✔✔Potassium - ✔✔A mineral that is present in all tissues in the body and is required for
maintaining concentration gradients, fluid volume, and cardiac rhythm.
✔✔Hypokalemia - ✔✔A condition where the concentration of potassium in the blood
drops below normal levels.
✔✔Selenium - ✔✔The key component of several selenoproteins that serve as
antioxidants or in the regeneration of antioxidants.
✔✔Sodium - ✔✔A mineral that is present in virtually every tissue of the body and is
essential for maintaining gradient balance, fluid status, and cardiac rhythm.
✔✔Hyponatremia - ✔✔A condition where the concentration of sodium in the blood
drops below normal levels - this often happens when people sweat a lot or consume too
much water and not enough electrolytes.
, ✔✔Zinc - ✔✔A mineral that provides structure to cells and helps reactions occur - it is
the most abundant intracellular of the trace elements and plays regulatory roles in
transcription via transcription factors, stabilizes nucleic acids, and is neccesary for the
creation of tubulin, giving cells their internal rigid structure and allowing them to properly
maintain their shape and function.
✔✔Bioavailability - ✔✔The extent to which an ingredient, food, or other substance is
absorbed by the body.
✔✔Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) - ✔✔A nutrient intake value that is estimated
to meet the requirement of half the healthy individuals in a group.
✔✔Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) - ✔✔The highest level of daily nutrient intake that
is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general
population - as intake increases above the UL, the risk of adverse effects increases.
✔✔Intracellular Fluid (ICF) - ✔✔The water contained within a cell's membrane, makes
up approximately 2/3 of total body water.
✔✔Extracellular Fluid (ECF) - ✔✔The water found outside of the body's cells - ECF is
found between cells and transported throughout the body via arteries, veins, and
capillaries.
✔✔Osmolality - ✔✔Describes the concentration of solutes in a liquid - various
compartments hold fluids but the primary regulator of hydration status is the osmolality
of ECF, specifically plasma osmolality. Multiple sites in the body house osmoreceptors
that detect shifts in osmolality and generate responses to return the body to fluid and
sodium homeostasis.
✔✔Dipsogenic Signal - ✔✔Physiological factors such as high osmolality or low blood
pressure, which prompt sodium and water appetite.
✔✔Baroreceptors - ✔✔Specialized nerves that can sense change in pressure in the
heart or blood vessels.
✔✔Hypo-Osmotic - ✔✔A solution with a lesser concentration of solute (i.e., fresh water
compared to salt water).
✔✔Gastric Emptying Rate (GER) - ✔✔The rate at which fluids and their contents pass
through the stomach via the pyloric sphincter and into the small intestine - the faster and
more complete the GER, the more quickly carbohydrates and electrolytes can be
absorbed into the mesentery system, where they feed the liver first and then the rest of
the body via the vascular system.
✔✔Convection - ✔✔The movement or flow of air over an object.
