What Do You REALLY Know About Healthy Eating?Answer:Green Peppers. For Other Surprising Food Facts Play Our Quiz

HOW much do you really know about healthy eating? We’re told with almost monotonous regularity that the key to a long and healthy life is a balanced diet. But can you honestly say you know which foods are best? Test your knowledge with our New Year nutrition quiz, compiled by ANGELA EPSTEIN. Give yourself a point for every correct answer to see whether you’re starting 2008 with the right ideas about nutrition but don’t forget, the right answers won’t always be the ones you’d expect..

1. Which lunch will keep you fuller for longer? a) Baked potato and cheese b) Baked beans on toast c) Fish and chips d) Tuna salad ANSWER: b. Though potatoes are thought of as a stodgy food, they actually have a high glycaemic index which means they release energy quickly so you feel hungry sooner. In contrast, both bread even white bread and baked beans have a far lower glycaemic index, so will produce slow-releasing energy to help you feel fuller for longer, says nutrition scientist Bridget Asbitt.

Baked beans also contain protein and fibre, both of which make the stomach distend and contribute to that feeling of fullness. Fat found in cheese, fried fish and chips does not have the bulk that fibre has. This means it passes roasting was as acidic as some carbonated drinks, which, when consumed in excess, may lead to tooth decay.

Help protect teeth by chewing sugarless gum after meals as the action stimulates the flow of saliva, which contains minerals that protect enamel under attack from sweet or acidic foods.

3. What’s best for your bones ? a) Glass of skimmed milk b) Glass of full cream milk c) Tin of sardines d) Bunch of watercress ANSWER: c. All of these foods are a good source of calcium, a mineral vital for healthy bones and teeth, but sardines are the best.

Calcium is also needed to regulate muscle contraction, including the heartbeat, and to ensure that blood clots normally. T h e r e c o m mended daily intake is 700mg. You can get nearly your entire daily intake 540mg from one tin of sardines.

Ursula Arens, of the British Dietetic Association explains that the reason sardines are so good is because we eat the fish bones a rich source of calcium.

Skimmed cow’s milk contains slightly more calcium than full-fat milk because calcium is found in the watery part, not the creamy part.

4. What’s the best way to get your five-a-day? a) Three apples and two bananas b) Jacket potato, tin of baked beans, tin of tomatoes, bunch of grapes, glass of apple juice c) Five glasses of fresh orange juice d) Apple, grapefruit, spinach, carrots, blueberries.

ANSWER: d. Eating five a day actually refers to five different varieties of fruit and vegetables rather than five servings, explains Dr Kevin Whelan, a dietician and lecturer in nutritional sciences at King’s College, London.

We need to eat a crosssection of fruit and vegetables in order to consume a broad range of nutrients, which can help health in different ways.

Baked potatoes are classified as carbohydrates so do not count as a one of the recommended five-a-day.

Tinned pulses (such as baked beans), fruit or vegetables do count but aim for those which don’t contain sugar.

No matter how many glasses of fruit juice you have, it can only count as one portion, as juicing means you miss out on the fibre from the peel or pith.

The sugar is also much more condensed in juice, which increases the risk of tooth decay.

through the gut more quickly and will not keep you feeling full for long. Tuna salad, though high in protein, also lacks much fibre so will not make you feel full.

2. Which of these is bad for your teeth? a) Fried vegetables b) Roasted vegetables c) Steamed vegetables d) Boiled vegetables ANSWER: b. You might think roasted vegetables are a healthy side- dish but they are actually as acidic as fizzy drinks, according to scientists at the University of Dundee.

Researchers there found this method of cooking made aubergines, green peppers and courgettes more acidic furthermore, ratatouille (made with onions, tomatoes, aubergine and courgettes) prepared by oven 5. Which contains the most vitamin C? a) One kiwi b) Three new potatoes c) Five strawberries d) Half a green pepper ANSWER: d. Half a green pepper contains over twice the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, says dietician Ursula Arens.

Adults need 40mg a day half a pepper contains a massive 96mg. Vitamin C is essential for healthy skin, bones, cartilage and teeth and healing wounds. It also helps to prevent anaemia by assisting the absorption of iron.

The vitamin is a powerful antioxidant, too, and helps to protect the body against the harmful effects of cell-damaging free radicals that may increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

However, make sure you eat the pepper raw as vitamin C is easily destroyed by boiling the water causes the nutrient to leach out of fruit and vegetables.

If you need to cook it, opt for steaming or microwaving instead..

Ursu ofte min 18m dail y and Ta fruit ing i oily iron Th iron exp Will tant Cw in pu abso Bu juice to li on t drin abso 6. W a) b) c) d) ANS the whi anot ula Arens adds that potatoes are en overlooked as a source of vitan C. Three new potatoes provide mg, almost half the recommended ly intake. A kiwi will give you 35g, d five strawberries 77g.

aking vitamin C (for example, t juice) at the same time as eatiron-rich foods red meat, eggs, fish also boosts the amount of n your body absorbs.

hat’s because vitamin C converts n to its ‘non-oxidised’ state, plains nutrition scientist Claire liamson. It’s particularly import for vegetarians to have vitamin with their meals because the iron pulses and vegetables is harder to orb than that from meat.

ut it is always best to drink fruit e with rather than between meals imit the acid attack of the juice teeth. Avoid tea as a mealtime nk as the tannin can actually limit orption of iron.

What is best for your eyes? Potatoes Carrots Spinach Tuna SWER: c. While carrots are rich in antioxidant beta-carotene, ich can help improve vision, ther form of antioxidant, known as lutein, found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, is thought to be particularly powerful in helping to maintain eye health.

A study carried out at Manchester University found that a diet rich in this nutrient can help lower the risk of agerelated macular degeneration (AMD), a condition caused by deterioration of the macula, a small area of the retina responsible for seeing detail and colour in the central field of vision. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the UK.

A further study published in the journal Nutrition also found that lutein can help prevent cataracts (a condition which causes the lens to cloud over) by protecting the eye from damage by UV light.

7. What is the healthiest type of veg? a) Tinned b) Organic c) Frozen d) Locally grown ANSWER: c. Many people don’t realise that frozen vegetables can contain more nutrients than fresh ones, says Bridget Aisbitt of the British Nutrition Foundation.

This is because many vegetables lose an increasing amount of nutrients as they get older. (One exception is carrots their beta carotene content actually increases until the vegetable starts to go off.) However, freezer veg are frozen rapidly after being harvested so they maintain their nutrient content.

Bridget adds that there is no nutritional advantage in eating organic over non-organic, or local over buying produce from further field.

8. Which doesn’t count as a portion of oily fish? a) Tinned salmon b) Tinned sardines c) Tinned pilchards d) Tinned tuna ANSWER: d. Oily fish contain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which lower blood pressure and raise levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol while reducing ‘bad’ blood fats. The general advice is for girls and women of childbearing age to have two portions a week, and others four (a portion is 140g).

Although fresh tuna is an oily fish, the tinned variety does not count, according to Bridget Aisbitt. This is because oil from the tuna fish which contains Omega 3 is removed during the canning process. However, canning does not affect other varieties of oily fish in the same way so these tinned products count as a portion.

9. Which is best for your bowel? a) Raspberries b) Cranberries c) Blueberries d) Strawberries

ANSWER: c. Though all berries are a good source of many nutrients, blueberries may help prevent colon cancer as they contain a compound called pterostilbene which could fight the disease.

Pterostilbene is found in the pigment that gives blueberries their colour. The darker the berry, the higher the concentration of antioxidants which help fight disease.

In a pilot study at Rutgers University in America, rats were given

cancer-causing compound called azoxymethane. Half the rats were placed on a balanced daily diet while the others were given the same diet supplemented with pterostilbene.

After eight weeks, the rats fed pterostilbene had 57 per cent fewer pre-cancerous lesions in their colons compared with the control group.

The compound also appeared to reduce the growth rate of the cancerous cells and inhibited certain genes involved in inflammation.

Both of these could lead to the development of the disease.

Blueberries have also been found to improve short-term memory loss and enhance balance and co-ordination.

10. Which are the healthiest tomatoes? a) Whole beef tomatoes b) Baby tomatoes c) Sliced tomatoes d) Tinned tomatoes ANSWER: d. Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant also found in other red fruits. It has also been linked with a reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Unlike other nutrients which are destroyed by heat, the amount of lycopene in a food actually increases with heating this triggers a chemical change which makes the compound more readily absorbed by the body.

For this reason, tinned tomatoes, as well as tomato ketchup, will provide the body with even more lycopene than fresh varieties. Exposure to air can reduce vitamin C content in fruit and vegetables, so only slice tomatoes just before eating.

HOW DID YOU SCORE: 8-10 POINTS: Congratulations. You clearly know how to make the best nutritional choices and are doing all you can to protect your health.

You’ve obviously also remembered many of the new, surprising health messages which experts have brought to you in the pages of Good Health over the past year.

4-7 POINTS: A pretty good result.

You’re eating healthy foods and seem to have a strong sense of how to get the best from what you cook. You just need to keep in mind that while many foods can boost our well-being, there are usually other varieties that can do even more to optimise health.

0-3 POINTS: Oh dear. It seems that you are deep in the festive fog which descends over all of us at this time of year. But as you face 2008 it’s worth remembering that it takes only minor tweaks to our diet and the way we prepare food to nourish our bodies and stay healthy..

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