Reference
Glossary
The words you'll meet reading about HMPA, defined in plain English.
- HMPA
- 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid (C₁₀H₁₂O₄). A compound found in fermented rice bran and made by gut bacteria from ferulic acid; studied for its effect on visceral fat. Read more →
- Dihydroferulic acid
- Another name for HMPA. It is ferulic acid with one double bond reduced. Read more →
- Ferulic acid (HMCA)
- 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid, a plant compound in grains, rice bran and coffee. Gut microbes convert it into HMPA.
- GPR41 (FFAR3)
- A receptor that senses metabolites made by gut bacteria. In mouse studies HMPA activates GPR41, which increases fat breakdown in the liver. Read more →
- Gut microbiota
- The bacteria and other microbes living in your intestines. They turn some dietary compounds, such as ferulic acid, into new ones like HMPA.
- Visceral fat
- Fat stored deep in the abdomen around the organs. More metabolically active and more linked to diabetes and heart disease than fat under the skin. Read more →
- Subcutaneous fat
- Fat stored just under the skin; the fat you can pinch.
- Visceral fat area (VFA)
- The area of visceral fat in a single scan slice at belly-button level, in cm². Japan treats 100 cm² or more as visceral obesity.
- BMI (Asian Indian cut-offs)
- Weight in kg divided by height in metres squared. For Asian Indians, 23–24.9 is overweight and 25 or more is obese. Read more →
- Waist circumference
- Waist measured midway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone. Indian cut-offs for abdominal obesity are 90 cm (men) and 80 cm (women).
- Waist-to-height ratio
- Waist divided by height. Below 0.5 is the healthy range recommended by NICE.
- HMPA water
- Drinking water with added HMPA, usually about 23 mg a serve. The category started with Suntory Tokusui in Japan in 2025. Read more →
- Functional water
- Packaged water with an added ingredient meant to do something beyond hydration, such as electrolytes, vitamins or HMPA.
- Tokusui (特水)
- Suntory's HMPA water, launched in Japan on 21 October 2025: 600 mL, 23 mg of HMPA. Read more →
- Food with Function Claims (FFC)
- A Japanese category (機能性表示食品) where companies notify the government of a function claim and supply their own evidence. The state doesn't evaluate it.
- FOSHU
- Food for Specified Health Uses: Japan's state-approved health-claim category, stricter than Food with Function Claims.
- FSSAI
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the regulator for food and drink in India, including approval of new ingredients.
- NABL
- National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, which accredits labs in India.
- TDS
- Total dissolved solids: the amount of minerals and salts dissolved in water, in mg per litre.
- Batch lab report
- The test results for one production batch: what's in it, what isn't, and whether it passed. Every Get Waisted can's QR code opens one. Read more →