Quiz: What’s your nutrition IQ?

As a Healthy Food Guide reader, you have regular access to practical, science-based information about nutrition and well-being. But just how much sticks? Take HFG nutritionist Brooke Longfield’s quiz to find out your nutrition IQ.

Start your nutrition IQ quiz

1 Which food contains more fibre?

a. 1 cup cooked brown rice
b. 1 cup cooked wholemeal pasta
c.1 medium-sized baked potato

ANSWER: 1 cup cooked wholemeal pasta. Wholemeal pasta wins at more than 5g fibre compared to brown rice at nearly 4g and the potato at around 2g fibre.

2 Which food has more vitamin C?

a. 1/2 cup broccoli
b. 1 orange
c. 1/2 red capsicum

ANSWER: Red capsicum. Though most of us associate vitamin C with oranges, half a red capsicum has 40 per cent more vitamin C than an orange.

3 Once you’re in your 70s, you don’t need as many daily kilojoules/calories as you did in your 20s. It’s therefore recommended to cut your energy intake by…?

a. 200kJ (about 50cal)
b. 1000kJ (about 250cal)
c. 2200kJ (about 550cal)

ANSWER: It depends on your gender. At rest, muscle burns more energy than fat. Men tend to carry more muscle so their metabolism is usually higher than women’s. From the age of 50, both men and women lose roughly one to two per cent of muscle mass each year, and this loss makes for a slower metabolism. As a result, by the age of 70, you could probably cut 1000kJ (about 250cal) from your daily diet if you are a woman, and around 2200kJ (around 550cal) if you’re a man. If you are not so active in your later years, you may have to cut a few more kilojoules.

4 What’s the maximum amount of salt is it recommended we eat in one day?

a. 1 teaspoon
b. 2 teaspoons
c. 1 tablespoon

ANSWER: 1 teaspoon (or 2300mg sodium). Consuming more than the recommended upper limit in a day can raise both your blood pressure and your stroke risk — and most New Zealanders are eating one-and-a-half times that! The problem is that 75 per cent of the salt we eat comes from processed foods rather than from the salt we add during cooking or to meals.

5 True or false?

A glass of trim milk has more calcium than a glass of regular milk.

ANSWER: True. Surprisingly, a glass of trim milk is slightly higher in calcium than the same amount of standard milk. Milk’s fat-removal process increases its watery portion — which contains the calcium. A 250ml glass trim milk contains around 350 to 400mg calcium (a third of your RDI for this mineral).

6 How often is it recommended we eat oily fish such as salmon, sardines or herring?

a. Once a week
b. At least twice a week
c. Once a month
d.At least twice a month

ANSWER: At least twice a week. Oily fish have the benefit of more heart-healthy omega-3 fats and the Heart Foundation recommends we try to have at least two fish-based meals each week. Oily fish include tuna, kahawai, trevally, kingfish, warehou, dory, salmon, sardines, eel, squid, mussels or oysters.

7 Which of the following foods has the most saturated fat in these 100g serves?

a. Beef sausage (1 thick sausage)
b. Salami (4 x 10cm slices)
c. Middle bacon (2 rashers)
d. Deli-sliced ham (4 thin slices)

ANSWER: At around 18g saturated fat per 100g (about 4 x 10cm-wide slices), it’s salami. Loaded with 80 per cent of an average daily intake of saturated fat — as well as 80 per cent of the recommended upper limit for sodium — regular salami is one deli meat to leave on the supermarket shelf.

8 How much weight are you at risk of gaining if you add one can of sugar-sweetened soft drink every day for one year?

a. Nearly 2kg
b. 5kg
c. Nearly 7kg
d. 10kg

ANSWER: Nearly 7kg. Studies suggest that drinking one 375ml can fizzy drink per day can lead to an annual gain of 6.75kg. Worse still, you’re guzzling more than 14kg sugar!

9 How many serves of veges and fruit is it recommended we eat each day?

a. 2 serves of fruit and at least 3 serves of veges
b. 2 serves of fruit and at least 5 serves of veges
c. 3 serves of fruit and at least 3 serves of veges
d. 4 serves of fruit and at least 6 serves of veges

ANSWER: Two serves of fruit and at least three serves of veges. One serve of veges is about one cup salad, 1/2 cup cooked veges or one medium-sized potato. One serve of fruit is medium-sized or two small pieces or 30g of dried fruit. To get your daily veg, fill half your lunch or dinner plate with leafy salad greens or cooked vegetables and remember that more is better.

10 Roughly, how much saturated fat will you find in a serve of battered fish and chips?

a. 10g
b. 20g
c. 30g
d. 40g

ANSWER: Around 20g of saturated fat — so you get nearly a whole day’s saturated fat in one meal. For a more heart-healthy option, go for grilled fish and share the fried chips with a friend.

11 You can find omega-3 fats in which of the following foods?

a. Sardines
b. Walnuts
c. Chia seeds
d. All of the above

ANSWER: All of the above. Heart-healthy omega-3 fats come from plant and marine sources, although the EPA and DHA omega-3s in oily fish are more potent.

12 How many minutes of house cleaning uses up the energy from a 125ml glass wine?

a. 16 minutes
b. 26 minutes
c. 36 minutes
d. 46 minutes

ANSWER: 36 minutes. You would need to clean the house for slightly more than half an hour to use the 430kJ (103cal) in a small 125ml glass of wine.

13 True or false?

One of the benefits of eating low-glycaemic index (low-GI) carbohydrates for weight control is that these foods help you feel full for longer.

ANSWER: True. Low-GI carbohydrates break down slowly so their gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream prolongs feelings of satiety. This is why a bowl of low-GI oats is much more satisfying than a bowl of high-GI rice bubbles.

14 What is the ideal number of kilojoules/calories for a healthy snack?

a. Fewer than 200kJ (about 50cal)
b. Around 600kJ (about 150cal)
c. At least 1000kJ (about 250cal)

ANSWER: 600 to 800kJ (150 to 200cal). But more importantly, choose snacks that are high in protein and fibre because they not only fill you up but also help stop you craving sugar. Stock up on healthy hunger-busting snacks such as low-fat yoghurt, whole-grain or nutty snack bars and small boxes of dried fruit and nuts.

15 Which of the following foods provide you with around one third of your RDI for calcium?

a. 250ml glass trim milk
b. 150g pottle low-fat fruity yoghurt
c. 2 slices (40g) Mainland Noble Tasty Cheddar cheese
d. 105g can pink salmon (with bones)
e. All of the above

ANSWER: The trim milk and Noble Tasty Cheddar. These foods give you around 350mg calcium, one-third of most adults’ recommended daily intake for calcium. The low-fat yoghurt and pink salmon each add around 100 to 200g calcium. Aim to include three or more of these options in your daily eating plan. To reduce your saturated fat intake, opt for reduced-fat dairy foods most of the time.

16 Which activity take the most energy?

a. 30 minutes of gardening
b. 30 minutes of Pilates
c. 30 minutes of gentle walking

ANSWER: They’re equal! If vigorous exercise isn’t your thing, dig in the garden, stroll around the block or stretch into a Pilates class. You will reap the health benefits in just 30 minutes a day.

What’s your nutrition IQ?