WHAT’s YOUR FOOD IQ? Brown Sugar or White? Olive Oil or Butter? Good Health

WHILE we all strive to eat healthily, how many of us actually know what that means – or how to achieve it? Yet doctors increasingly warn us that we really are what we eat. They say being foodsmart will mean we not only feel better, but live longer, too. So, asks LUCY ELKINS, is your diet doing you justice? Take our fun quiz below and find out.

1 Which is better for you

white or brown sugar?

2 Iron is needed to help

produce red blood cells.

Shortfalls in the diet can lead to

lethargy and anaemia. Which

contains more iron: a bowl of

spinach or a handful of dried

apricots?

3 Which is higher in calorie

content: olive oil or butter?

4 Eating just 1.5g of omega-3

fish oil a week equal to

2-3 portions of oily fish

reduces the risk of heart disease.

Which has the most omega-3: a

mackerel; the mackerels weight

in fresh sardines; or a can of

tuna fish?

5 Muscle cramps can signal a

deficiency in which two

minerals?

6 Chicken is a healthier option

than pork, true or false?

7 Calcium is needed to

maintain healthy muscles

and nerves. Which of the

following provides the most

calcium? A small tub of yoghurt;

a matchbox-size piece of cheese;

or sardines on toast?

8 Which foodstuffs can prevent

the bodys absorption of

calcium from the diet?

9 How much fibre should an

adult eat in an average day?

10 Which provides the most

fibre: two slices of brown

bread, two slices of wholemeal

bread or an avocado?

11An adult should eat no

more than 6g of salt a day

to avoid blood pressure

problems. Which of the following

is the saltiest? A packet of

crisps, a Pot Noodle or a portion

of supermarket mashed potato?

12 Why should you avoid

drinking tea at mealtimes?

13 What is the maximum

amount of saturated fat

an adult should eat daily?

14 How many meals per day

should include a portion of

starchy carbohydrate such as

potatoes or bread?

15 It is advised that we all

eat a minimum of five

portions of fruit and vegetables

daily as this has been found to

reduce the risk of many diseases,

including cancer. How much

broccoli do you need to eat to

qualify as a portion?

16 Which

of the

following is

kinder to teeth?

Orange juice, a

glass of milk or a

glass of fizzy

water?

17 Following

a diet of

food with a low

Glycaemic

Index is regarded by doctors as

one of the healthiest and most

effective methods of losing

weight. A foods GI rating

indicates how quickly it is

converted into energy. Which of

the following meals has the

lowest GI: cheese and French

bread; a baked potato with

beans; or spaghetti with tomato

sauce and Parmesan?

18 Recurrent mouth ulcers

can be a symptom of a

deficiency of which nutrients in

the diet?

19 According to the Food

Standards Agency, if a

food contains 3g or less fat per

100g, then it is low in fat but

per 100 grams, how much is said

to equal a lot of fat?

20 Which of the following

would contain the least

fat? Chicken Kiev with new

potatoes; a grilled steak with oven

chips; or lasagne?

21Which is better for you:

skimmed milk,

semi-skimmed milk, or organic

full fat milk?

22 Protein is vital for

repairing and growing

muscles and tissues in the body.

women needs 45g and a man 55g

a day. Which contains more

protein: an egg, a small tub of

cottage cheese or a glass of milk?

23 How much actual fruit

must a strawberryflavour

yoghurt contain?

24 It is recommended that

women have no more than

14 units of alcohol a week and

men no more than 21 units. How

many units are there in a large

glass of wine?

25 Taking a tablet is the

best way to ensure that

you get the recommended daily

levels of vitamins and minerals.

True or false?

26 Trans fats – found in pies, biscuits, cakes and margarine – have been found to be even more damaging to health than saturated fat. Eating just 1g day can raise the risk of having a heart attack, and trans fats have been linked to obesity. But how do you spot them on food labels?

27 Having adequate vitamin C in the diet has been found to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke, help relieve back pain, reduce the risk of age-related eye disease and help protect against infections. How much vitamin C should an adult have daily?

28 Women hoping to get pregnant are advised to increase their intake of folic acid.

Which of the following should they do? Take 400mg folic acid daily; eat folate-enriched foods such as brown bread; or eat a diet rich in folic acid, with plenty of green leafy vegetables?

29 Which two everyday fruits have been found to help relieve the symptoms of asthma and prevent wheezing?

30 Antioxidants have been found to be crucial in the fight against disease and ageing, as they protect the body from the effects of free radicals, naturally occurring chemicals that cause wear and tear on the cells. What are the five main antioxidants?

ANSWERS

1 Neither. Brown sugar is normally just refined white sugar coloured with molasses.

Refined sugar of any colour contains only empty calories and has no nutritional merit.

2 The apricots. Spinach is a good source of nutrients, but is not as rich in iron as the Popeye myth suggests.

Spinach also contains a compound called oxalate, which reduces the absorption of iron. Apricots are a good source of iron, the antioxidant beta carotene, potassium and fibre.

3 Olive oil. All oils are 100 per cent fat and provide around 900 calories per 100 millilitres.

Butter, like full fat margarine, is 80 per cent fat and provides around 720 calories per 100g. However, butter is high in saturated fat, which damages arteries, whereas olive oil may help reduce cholesterol – but it should still be eaten only in moderation.

4 Mackerel. The tuna contains virtually none as it loses most of its oil during the canning process.

Mackerel is one of the richest sources of omega-3, as is fresh salmon – they contain twice as much oil as sardines for example.

5 Zinc and magnesium. Rich sources of zinc include dairy foods, dark green leafy vegetables and sardines. Leafy vegetables also contain magnesium.

6 False. While chicken meat is low in fat and high in B vitamins – needed for a healthy nervous system, chicken served with its skin contains more fat than a lean cut of pork, which is also richer in protein.

7 The sardines on toast. Just 100g of sardines in tomato sauce would provide over half of an adult’s recommended daily intake of calcium. The cheese and yoghurt would each provide around a third of the recommended daily amount.

8 Bran and tea when taken to excess prevent the body from absorbing calcium, while a diet high in salt or caffeine encourages the body to excrete calcium.

9 Around 18g. Fibre helps prevent constipation by easing the transit of food through the colon but can also protect against certain cancers. It is best to get fibre from a variety of sources. A bowl of cereal with an apple, a wholemeal sandwich, a fruit salad and a portion of vegetables would provide an adequate daily supply.

10 The avocado. Avocados contain six times the fibre of a slice of white bread, for example, and are rich in antioxidants, especially vitamin E.

Wholemeal bread is also a good source of fibre, though – containing almost double the amount of fibre that brown bread does.

11 The Pot Noodle. It contains a whopping 4g of salt – over half the recommended 6g a day maximum for an adult. However, the mashed potato is almost as bad, with just under 3g of salt per serving. The crisps, despite being high in saturated fat and low in nutrients, contain the least salt of the three – around half a gram – but as they would be only a snack, they can contribute to a high salt diet.

12 Tea contains a compound called tannin, which prevents the body from absorbing non-meat sources of iron, such as that found in peas, lentils, dried fruit and wholegrains.

13 It should make up no more than 11 per cent of total calorie intake. For an average woman having 2,000 calories a day, that’s about 22g – roughly the amount found in a chicken korma.

14 Breads, cereals and potatoes should make up around 50 per cent of the diet, so should be included in each meal. As well as being a good source of energy, starchy carbohydrates provide fibre and a wealth of vitamins and minerals. A mixture of sources yields the best results.

15 Two tablespoons. The same measure applies to peas, carrots and spinach.

16 The milk and the water. Fruit juices are highly acidic and this acid can erode the tooth enamel. Fizzy water is as kind as plain water and milk contains phosphorous and calcium – two main components for strong, healthy teeth.

17 The spaghetti. Both French bread and baked potatoes are high GI foods – although eating protein with them, such as beans or cheese, does means that they are broken down slightly slower.

18 Iron (found in offal, pilchards and dried fruit) and B group vitamins, including folic acid (found in yeast extract and chickpeas) and vitamin B12 (found in mussels, sardines, herring and lean beef).

19 More than 20g of fat per 100g is ‘high in fat’. A pork pie contains almost double that amount.

20 The steak meal is by far the lowest in fat. The garlic butter sauce and fried crumb exterior means chicken Kiev contains more fat than a chicken burger with French fries.

However, the lasagne contains even more fat – up to 60g per serving – as much fat as in three cream cakes. A grilled steak contains a third of the amount of fat of the Kiev, while oven chips are relatively low in fat.

21 Skimmed milk contains slightly more calcium than the others.

However, studies have found that organic milk contains 64 per cent more omega-3 fats – which have a range of health benefits – than ordinary milk.

For children under two, full fat organic milk would be best, whereas adults might benefit from skimmed or semi-skimmed.

22 The cottage cheese – it contains around 26g per portion – which is over four times the amount found in 200ml of milk or the egg.

23 Legally none. A fruit-flavoured yoghurt could contain only artificial flavourings. However, a strawberry yoghurt must contain actual fruit – as must a yoghurt with a picture of fruit on the tub.

24 A 175ml glass of wine contains almost two units.

25 False. It is far better to get nutrients from food. Food contains micro nutrients, which multivitamins may not contain.

Nutrients also tend to be better absorbed from food. However, if you do not eat a varied diet, then a one-a-day, multivitamin, multi- mineral supplement is a good health insurance.

26 Food labels will often mention hydrogenate fats – some of which may be trans fats.

27 The RDA for an adult is 40mg – the amount found in a peach and a kiwi fruit or two tomatoes.

Vitamin C is needed to absorb iron from plant food sources but food sources are better than tablets – as food rich in vitamin C often contains bioflavonoids, which have been found to have major health benefits. Taking high-dose vitamin C tablets can also lead to an upset stomach.

28 They should be doing all three.

Folic acid is water soluble, so the body cannot store much of it. But it is needed during the early days of pregnancy, as it is used to form the tube that eventually becomes the spine and brain. If there is not enough, then birth defects such as spina bifida may result.

29 Apples and tomatoes. Studies have found that people who eat five or more apples a week – or tomatoes every other day – have healthier lungs and better lung cavity than others.

30 They are: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene and selenium.

HOW MANY DID YOU GET RIGHT?

23-30: MASTER OF NUTRITION WHAT you do not know about food and nutrition is not worth knowing.You can probably quote the full range of antioxidants and can spot the healthiest thing on a restaurant menu at ten paces. If you put your knowledge into practice, you should be brighteyed and bushy-tailed.

16-22: FADDY FOODIE YOU know the basics, but you may be suffering from ‘chicken Kiev’ syndrome – choosing chicken, wrongly believing that it is a healthy option even when it is stuffed with butter and coated in breadcrumbs, when actually a grilled steak or a lamb chop would be healthier.You want to try to eat better, but don’t do as well as you think. When it comes to food, simple is normally best.

Cutting back on processed foods and increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables will help.

0-15: DIET DUNCE DO YOU even know what a tomato looks like? You have a long way to go before you understand the basics of nutrition and the chances are your diet is wanting, too.You need to start from scratch. First, try to ensure you eat three meals a day and improve one meal at a time. So if your old breakfast was nothing or a piece of white bread and jam, try changing to wholemeal toast with a mashed banana on top or served with yoghurt. Try to eat five portions of fruit and veg a day. At the same time ensure you are getting enough fluids, and watch your salt intake.