What's your EQ (eating quotient)?

1. Which of these foods is most likely to help prevent the most common form of blindness in older Americans? a. carrots b. oranges c. spinach d. tomato juice e. zucchini

2. Which is worst for you? a. butter b. tub margarine c. stick margarine d. whipped butter e. light tub margarine

3. Which claim is backed by the best research? a. hot dogs increase the risk of childhood leukemia b. carnitine helps you lose weight c. cranberry juice can help treat urinary tract infections d. garlic strengthens your immune system e. coenzyme Q10 helps prevent heart disease

4. Breast cancer has more women than any other disease. a. true b. false

5. Which disease has not been linked to diets that are rich in red meat? a. colon cancer b. heart disease c. prostate cancer d. stomach cancer

6. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has not been clearly linked to a lower risk of: a. breast cancer b. colon cancer c. lung cancer d. stroke

7. A healthy Mediterranean diet has very little: a. bread b. olive oil c. beans d. vegetables e.cheese

8. If you're in your 50s or 60s your blood pressure is normal, it will stay that way. a. true b. false

9. Four of these strategies have been clearly shown to keep blood pressure from rising. Which hasn't. a. cutting salt b. losing excess weight c. eating potassium-rich foods d. getting adequate calcium e. exercising regularly

10. Which is not a good source of potassium? a. cantaloupe b. yogurt c. brown rice d. squash e. kidney beans

11. Which has not been Unliked to a high-salt diet? a. stroke b. stomach cancer c. osteoporosis d. diabetes

12. There's evidence that the B-vitamin folic acid cuts the risk of all but: a. birth defects like spina bifida b. stroke c. colon cancer d. heart disease e. prostate cancer

13. Which is not a good source of folic acid? a. tuna fish b. corn flakes c. asparagus d. lentils e. orange juice

14. The evidence is strongest that vitamin C can: a. prevent cancer b. lower blood pressure c. reduce the duration of colds d. prevent colds e. prevent cataracts

15. Which isn't dangerous in high doses? a. vitamin B-6 b. vitamin B-12 c. niacin d. vitamin D

16. Most multivitamin supplements contain far less than a day's worth of: zinc b. vitamin A c. iron d. calcium e. vitamin D

17. Which food poisoning symptoms warrant calling the doctor? a. bloody diarrhea b. a stiff neck, severe headache, and fever c. excessive vomiting d. any of the above

18. Which is least likely to cause food poisoning? a. undercooked chicken b. Caesar salad dressing c. raw oysters d. rare hamburger e. mayonnaise

19. Which is least likely to have contaminants? a. flounder b. swordfish c. raw clams d. bluefish e. lake trout

20. What poisons the most children under the age of six? a. eating moldy food b. drinking household cleaners c. taking an overdose of iron pills d. chewing poisonous houseplant leaves

1. c. Two carotenoids found in spinach--lutein and zeaxanthin-- appear to protect eyes more than beta-carotene and other carotenoids. Other good sources: red bell pepper, okra, and leafy greens like kale, collard greens, and romaine lettuce.

2. a. Butter's saturated fat makes it boost your cholesterol more than margarine will. If you insist on butter, at least get a light whipped brand (some of its fat will be replaced by water and air). As for margarine, a tub always beats a stick, but a light tub or spread has the least cholesterol-raising trans and saturated fat of all.

3. c. In a recent study from Harvard Medical School, women who drank a little over a cup of cranberry juice cocktail a day were twice as likely to be cured of their urinary tract infections as women who drank a look-alike, taste-alike beverage with no cranberry juice. None of the other claims are backed by studies as good.

4. b. Premenopausal women are more likely to die of breast cancer than heart disease. But after menopause, when the risk of both illnesses really takes off, heart disease is a much greater threat. When women of all ages are combined, heart disease kills four times as many women as breast cancer.

5. d. The saturated fat and cholesterol in red meat-especially ground beef-raise the risk of heart disease. No one is sure what in red meat explains its apparent link to colon and prostate cancers.

6. a. A few animal studies suggest that something in fruits or vegetables may reduce the risk of breast cancer. But in humans, other cancers are more strong linked to a lack of fruits and

7. e. A true Mediterranean diet is very low in saturated fat. That means very little cheese (and meat, poultry, and butter).

8. b. in the U.S., blood pressure rises with age for most people. Roughly 40 percent of 50-somethings, 50 percent of 60-somethings, and 60 percent of 70-somethings have blood pressure that's high enough to consider treating with drugs.

9. d. There's convincing evidence for all but the calcium. Limiting alcohol to no more than two drinks a day should also keep your blood pressure from rising.

10. c. Most grains aren't rich in potassium. A serving of any of the other four foods will give you at least 500 mg, Health experts recommend getting 4,000 to 4,500 mg a day to keep blood pressure low. Most fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, poultry, and milk (but not cheese) are good sources.

11. d. A high-salt diet is most clearly linked to the risk of stroke. But the more salt you eat, the more calcium your body excretes, which can lead to osteoporosis, or brittle bones. While stomach cancer is deadly, the kind that's linked to salty foods is on the decline in the U.S.

12. e. There's no doubt that folic acid can prevent about half of all neural tube birth defects. The evidence is promising, but not as certain, that it can help prevent heart disease and stroke. The evidence is more preliminary for colon cancer.

13. a. Meat, fish, and poultry are poor sources. The best places to get folic acid are fruits, vegetables, beans, fortified cereals, and vitamin supplements.

14. c. Most people think that vitamin C prevents colds, but the research always seems to come up empty. Iin several studies, though, one to three grams (1,000 to 3,000 mg) a day reduced the average duration of volunteers' colds from 6 days to 41/2 days. Vitamin C might have other benefits, but the evidence isn't convincing.

15. b. A high dose of B-12 (500 micrograms a day) can prevent B-12 deficiency. And it's safe. A high dose of B-6 (possibly as little as 200 mg a day), on the other hand, can cause (reversible) nerve damage. Niacin (about 500 mg a day or more) is considered a drug. While it lowers cholesterol, it can cause side effects like flushing and liver damage. Vitamin D may cause side effects at levels as low as 1,200 IU a day.

16. d. If you want to get close to I 00% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance from a supplement, you'll need to take calcium separately. That goes for magnesium, too. They're too bulky to fit into one swallowable pill.

17. d. You should also see a physician if any milder food poisoning symptom like nausea, aching muscles, a mild headache, constipation, or non-bloody diarrhea lasts for more than three days.

18. e. Despite its reputation for spoiling easily, mayonnaise is not as risky as undercooked poultry (which can harbor Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Listeria), rare hamburger (E. coli O 157: H7), the raw egg in Caesar salad dressing Salmonella), and raw shellfish (several viruses and bacteria).

19. a. Other low-fat seafood like cod, haddock, pacific halibut, ocean perch, pollock, sole, and cooked shellfish are also likely to be safe. Ditto for salmon and canned tuna. To avoid mercury, limit fresh tuna, swordfish, and shark to once a week (once a month if you're planning to become pregnant during the next year). Bluefish and lake trout may be contaminated with harmful PCBs.

20. c. Since 1986, more than 110,000 children have been poisoned by taking an overdose of their parents' (often brightly colored) iron supplements or iron-containing multivitamins, some after swallowing as few as five pills. The FDA wants manufacturers to package supplements that contain more than 30 mg of iron in hard-to-open blister packs.

RELATED ARTICLE:

Keeping up with the latest on what to eat--or not eat--sn't easy.

It's hard enough to tell your alpha-tocopherols fro your beta-carotenes, your trans fats from your monounsaturates, your Salmonella from your E coli.

If you think a few facts might have slipped past you, this quiz should help. It touches on issues we've written about over the last year or two ... and more. There's only one correct answer for each question.

RELATED ARTICLE: WHAT'S YOUR SCORE Give yourself one point for each correct answer on this very tough quiz.

Your Score

16 to 20 Superb. You do your crossword puzzles in ink, right?

11 to 15 Hubba Hubbal Are you sure you don't have a degree in nutrition?

6to 10 Not too shabby. Sounds low, but most people scored in this range.

5 or less Don't despair. Just re-read the last year's worth of Nutrition Action ... by next Tuesday (we'll be calling you to check).