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How well do you know nutrition? Take our quiz and find out!

1.In a typical restaurant breakfast, which has the most fat? 

1. An order of hash browns   
2. Two slices of buttered toast   
3. Two sausage links   
4. Two strips of bacon   
5. Two ounces of ham

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2. When you eat breakfast out, which is worse for your arteries?

1. A ham and cheese omelet   
2. An order of biscuits and gravy   
3. Three slices of french toast with butter   
4. Four pancakes with butter   
5. Two scrambled eggs

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3. Which two are most likely to cut your risk of breast cancer?

1. Drinking little or no alcohol   
2. Avoiding weight gain after menopause   
3. Eating more fruits and vegetables   
4. Exercising regularly

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4.Judging by what scientists know so far, which cereal is most likely to cut your risk of colon cancer?

1. Shredded Wheat   
2. Oatbran   
3. All-Bran   
4. Oatmeal

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5.Which three are good sources of soluble fiber, which may help lower cholesterol levels?

1. Kidney beans   
2. Cantaloupe   
3. Oranges   
4. Oat bran

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6.Which three have more than 500 calories?

1. Four pancakes with syrup   
2. One Starbucks Cinnamon Scone   
3. Four strips of bacon   
4. One slice of The Cheesecake Factory’s Lite Cheesecake

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7.Seniors are at risk for vitamin B-12 deficiency because:

1. They don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables   
2. They don’t eat enough protein foods, like meat, poultry, and cheese   
3. They absorb too little B-12 from their food   
4. They need more B-12 than younger adults

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8.Which three symptoms can be signs of vitamin B-12 deficiency?

1. Memory loss   
2. Blurred vision   
3. Tingling sensation in the feet   
4. Mental confusion

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9. Studies suggest that a lack of the B-vitamin folic acid (or folate) can cause which three health problems?

1. Cataracts   
2. Birth defects   
3. Heart disease   
4. Stroke

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10.Which three are good sources of folate?

1. Orange juice   
2. Turkey breast   
3. Lentils   
4. Breakfast cereals

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11. Which cancer kills the most men?

1. Prostate   
2. Lung   
3. Colorectal   
4. Pancreatic

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12. The American Cancer Society recommends that men get a digital rectal exam every year starting at age:

1. 40   
2. 50   
3. 60   
4. 70

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13. If early studies are borne out, which food would best reduce the risk of prostate cancer?

1. Carrots   
2. Pepperoni pizza   
3. Fresh tomatoes   
4. Spaghetti and tomato sauce

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14. Which three symptoms can be signs of prostate cancer?

1. Excessive thirst   
2. Difficulty urinating   
3. Need to urinate frequently   
4. Continuing pain in the upper thighs

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15. Which one of these vitamins can reduce bone loss?

1. Vitamin A   
2. Vitamin B-2   
3. Vitamin D   
4. Vitamin E

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16. Optimal calcium intake appears to be 1,500 mg a day for women aged 50 to 65 who don’t take estrogen and for anyone over 65. Other women over 25 should consume 1,000 mg. How much calcium does the average woman consume a day?

1. 400 mg   
2. 600 mg   
3. 800 mg   
4. 1,000 mg

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17. Which three are good sources of vitamin D?

1. Milk   
2. Yogurt   
3. Breakfast cereals   
4. Sunshine

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18. Which "dinner house" meal has the least fat?

1. Hamburger with fries   
2. Sirloin steak and a baked potato with a tablespoon of sour cream   
3. Chicken Caesar salad with dressing   
4. Grilled chicken with a "loaded" baked potato

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19. What proportion of people in their 70s have high blood pressure?

1. 3 out of 10   
2. 4 out of 10   
3. 5 out of 10   
4. 6 out of 10

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20. Your risk of heart attack and stroke starts to rise when your blood pressure reaches:

1. 140 over 90   
2. 130 over 85   
3. 120 over 80   
4. 110 over 74

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21. Which is least likely to keep your blood pressure from rising?

1. Eating fruits and vegetables   
2. Exercising regularly   
3. Drinking skim milk   
4. Limiting salt and alcohol   
5. Losing excess weight

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22. Which has the least artery-clogging fat (saturated plus trans)?

1. Fleischmann’s Lower Fat Margarine, tub   
2. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Light, stick   
3. Shedd’s Spread Country Crock, tub   
4. Parkay, stick   
5. Land O’Lakes Sweet Cream Whipped Butter

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23. Eating which of these foods regularly is most likely to protect your heart?

1. Tuna salad sandwich   
2. Au Bon Pain Lowfat Blueberry Muffin   
3. Broiled salmon   
4. SnackWell’s Banana Snack Bars

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24. Which is most likely to harbor a potentially deadly strain of bacteria called E.coli 0157:H7

1. Soft cheese   
2. Steak   
3. Hamburger   
4. Eggs   
5. Oysters

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25. Which three can raise your risk of food poisoning?

1. Basting chicken with marinade   
2. Licking homemade batter   
3. Eating egg salad made with mayonnaise   
4. Eating chicken that’s pink on the inside

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26. Which is most likely to reduce your risk of diabetes?

1. Regular exercise   
2. Taking vitamin E   
3. Taking chromium   
4. Taking zinc

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27. Which three can be signs of adult-onset diabetes

1. Insatiable thirst   
2. Frequent urination   
3. Impotence   
4. Loss of appetite

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28.Hemochromatosis, or iron overload, is most commonly diagnosed in:

1. School-aged children   
2. Premenopausal women   
3. Postmenopausal women   
4. Men younger than 50   
5. Men age 50 or older

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29.A diet rich in plant foods (fruits, vegetables, beans, grains) is least likely to cut the risk of:

1. Stroke   
2. Arthritis   
3. Diverticulosis   
4. Blindness   
5. Cancer

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30. Which nutrient may weaken the immune system if taken in high doses?

1. Zinc   
2. Vitamin A   
3. Vitamin B-6   
4. Vitamin E

answer

Answers

1. c. Sausage (16 grams) is fattier than bacon (5 grams) or ham (3 grams). Hash browns (11 grams) are about as fatty as toast with butter or margarine (12 grams).

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2. a. With 17 grams of saturated fat and two days worth of cholesterol, the omelet is worse than the biscuits and gravy (10 grams of sat fat), the french toast (11 grams), the pancakes (9 grams), or the scrambled eggs (4 grams). Your best bet: hot or cold cereal (2 grams).

back to question 3

3. a, b. The evidence for exercise and fruits and vegetables is preliminary.

back to question 4

4. c. Wheat bran seems to lower levels of bile acids in the gut. Bacteria may convert some bile acids into carcinogens. All-Bran and Fiber One have the most wheat bran.

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5.a, c, d. Soluble fiber won’t lower your cholesterol nearly as much as cutting saturated fat and cholesterol will.

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6.a, b, d. The bacon has 130 calories. (It also has a fifth of a day’s saturated fat, so it’s no health food.) The scone has 530 calories, the "lite" cheesecake has 580, and the pancakes have 870 (if you request no butter or margarine).

back to question 7

7. c. Many older people secrete too little stomach acid to separate B-12 from the protein in foods. Seniors can absorb the B-12 in supplements, though, so they should take a daily multivitamin with a least 15 to 25 micrograms of B-12.

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8. a, c, d. B-12 deficiency damages the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves, so that electrical impulses can’t travel along them. In its early stages, B-12 deficiency is reversible, so anyone with these symptoms should get their blood B-12 levels checked.

back to question 9

9. b, c, d. Women who could become pregnant should get the Daily Value for folic acid, 400 micrograms, to reduce the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. Lower intakes of folic acid can raise homocysteine in the blood, which may raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

back to question 10

10. a, c, d. Folate is added to most breakfast cereals. It occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grams.

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11.b.While prostate cancer is far the most common, lung cancer is the more lethal. Colorectal cancer is the No. 3 killer. Pancreatic cancer is less common.

back to question 12

12.a. On average, prostate cancer is diagnosed at age 72, and 80 percent of patients are older than 65. But the risk starts rising at age 40. The American Cancer Society also recommends a yearly PSA (prostate specific antigen) test started at age 50.

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13. d. In one study, men who ate tomato sauce once a week had a 23% lower risk of prostate cancer than men who never ate it. Oil in the sauce may make the tomato’s lycopene more assessable than the lycopene in fresh tomatoes. Men who ate pizza also had a lower risk, but the cheese and meat can clog arteries, and red meat may raise the risk of prostate cancer.

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14. b, c, d. Other symptoms of prostate cancer include blood in the urine, pain in the lower back or pelvis, and weak or interrupted urine flow.

back to question 15

15.c. Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption, which strengthens bone.

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16. b. A cup of milk or calcium-fortified orange juice has 300 to 350 mg of calcium. A cup of flavored yogurt has 250 to 350 mg, and an ounce of cheese has 200 to 250 mg. A typical diet has about 300 mg from miscellaneous sources. If you eat fewer than two or three dairy products a day, you should consider taking a calcium supplement.

back to question 17

17.a, c, d. Only milk and most breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin D. Unless you live in the South, sunshine is only a good source in the summer.

back to question 18

18.b. The grilled chicken (8 grams) has less fat than the steak (20 grams) but the loaded baked potato (31 grams) is much fattier than a plain baked potato with a tablespoon of sour cream (3 grams). The chicken Caesar salad has 46 grams of fat. The burger and fries have a day’s worth (67 grams).

back to question 19

19.d.Blood pressure rises with age in the U.S. Two out of ten Americans in their 40s have high blood pressure. The number rises to four out of ten people in the 50s and five out of ten in their 60s. So don’t assume that if your blood pressure is low it will stay that way.

back to question 20

20. c. Anything over an "optimal" blood pressure (below 120 over below 80) increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke. That includes "high-normal" (130 to 139 over 85 to 89), and even so called "normal" (120 to 129 over 80 to 84).

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21. c. Cutting back on salt, losing as few as ten pounds, and limiting alcohol to no more than two drinks a day can keep blood pressure from rising. So can brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling for at least 30 to 45 minutes three times a week. The potassium or other nutrients in fruits and vegetables may also help.

back to question 22

22. a. Fleischmann’s Lower Fat Margarine (and Smart Beat margarine) has almost no trans or saturated fat. I Can’t Believe, etc., and Shedd’s Spread have two grams of artery-clogging fat per tablespoon. Parkay has four grams and Land O’ Lakes has five grams.

back to question 23

23. c.Lowfat sweets like muffins and SnackWell’s are better than their fattier cousins, but they’re not health foods. The omega-3 fats in salmon and other fatty fish may cut the risk of cardiac arrest. The salmon also has less saturated fat than steak or a tuna sandwich.

back to question 24

24. c. E. coli on the surface of steaks and roasts is easily destroyed, even if they’re eaten rare. But when raw beef is ground up, any bacteria on its surface can end up on the inside. If the hamburger isn’t thoroughly cooked, the E. coli can survive.

back to question 25

25.a, b, d. The acid in the vinegar in mayonnaise curbs the growth of bacteria. You can contaminate your chicken with marinade (unless it’s cooked). Unless you use a cake mix or a pasteurized egg substitute like Egg Beaters, the raw eggs in homemade batter can harbor Salmonella. Pink chicken isn’t cooked enough to kill Salmonella or Campylobacter.

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26.a. Exercise–and avoiding obesity–is the most certain ways to cut your risk of diabetes. Only preliminary research suggests that taking chromium could help people who consume too little, and that vitamin E may help lower blood sugar levels in diabetics. There’s no good evidence for zinc.

back to question 27

27.a, b, c. Other symptoms of adult-onset diabetes; unexplained weight-loss, more infections than usual, leg cramps, a "pins and needles" sensation in the toes or fingers, fatigue, and blurred vision.

back to question 28

28.e. About one out of every 250 American carries the genes for iron overload, which can damage the liver, heart, pancreas, and brain. Men over 50 are at greatest risk because their bodies have been accumulating iron the longest. (Menstruation protects women for many years.)

back to question 29

29.b. There is evidence that goods rich in vitamin C, such as fruits and vegetables, may keep arthritis from getting worse, but it’s preliminary.

back to question 30

30. a. Doses of 50 mg a day of zinc appear to depress the immune system. In contrast, taking 200 or 400 IU of vitamin E a day may enhance immunity. So may the Daily Value (2 mg) of vitamin B-6, if it corrects a deficiency. High doses of vitamin A may cause liver damage.

HOW DID YOU DO???

Give yourself three points for each correct answer on this very tough quiz. For questions that have more than one correct answer, give yourself one point for each answer you get right.

Your score: ____________

75 or more: Whoa! You’re an expert!

50 – 74: Terrific! You know nutrition.

25 - 49: Pretty good. Most people score in this range.

24 or less: Don’t get discouraged. Take what you know now and eat healthy.

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