Test Your Nutritional Knowledge
How much do you know about nutrition? Test your knowledge against the following True or False statements and find out!
1. Bananas are high in fat.
2. Seven eggs per week can be included in a balanced/healthy diet.
3. The majority of Irish adults do not eat enough fibre.
4. Grapefruit burns up fat.
5. Olive oil is lower in calories than sunflower oil.
6. Stout is a good source of dietary iron.
7. Sardines are a good source of calcium.
8. One in two Irish women do not eat enough dietary iron.
9. One in two Irish Adults are either overweight or obese.
10. Frozen vegetables are lower in vitamins than fresh.
1. Bananas are high in fat.
FALSE
In fact bananas contain hardly any fat! They are often considered fattening as they are more filling than other fruits, but they are a great low-fat, high-fibre snack
2. Seven eggs per week can be included in a balanced/healthy diet.
TRUE
Eggs get a bad press because people think of them as being so high in cholesterol. Even though eggs are a source of cholesterol, cholesterol from your food has very little influence on the cholesterol level in your blood. Your total fat intake affects your cholesterol level. Boiled, poached or scrambled eggs are a great value and highly nutritious choice!
3. The majority of Irish adults do not eat enough fibre.
TRUE
An Irish survey carried out in 2001 showed that 75% of Irish adults do not eat enough dietary fibre, leaving them vulnerable to diseases of the bowel. By making simple changes like changing from white to wholemeal or oat bread, you can make a significant change in this regard!
4. Grapefruit burns up fat.
FALSE
No food burns up fat, but grapefruit is a great food, being very high in vitamin C and very low in calories.
5. Olive oil is lower in calories than sunflower oil.
FALSE
Even though olive oil is always mentioned as being a good source of fat as it is high in monounsaturated fats, it is just the same amount of calories as any other oil. One tablespoon of any oil has about 113k cal so it is very high in calories and all types of fat are best kept to a minimum.
6. Stout is a good source of dietary iron.
FALSE
For some reason it is common belief that stout is high in iron, maybe because it is black, or because the advertising campaign used to say it was good for you. But it has no more iron than any other beer. In fact you would need to drink 21 pints of stout a day to get the iron you need, certainly not something your doctor would advise!!
7. Sardines are a good source of calcium.
TRUE
But only if you eat the bones! Fish themselves aren’t a great source of calcium but tinned fish with soft bones that you can eat such as sardines and salmon are a great source of calcium and are also high in protein and the good fish oils, so definitely something to include in a healthy diet.
8. One in two Irish women do not eat enough dietary iron.
TRUE
47% of Irish women between 18-50 years of age do not eat enough dietary iron. 1 in 3 Irish women have low iron stores, with 1 in 30 having iron deficiency anaemia, which can cause tiredness and can affect concentration.
9. One in two Irish Adults are either overweight or obese.
TRUE
This shocking statistic of 57% of Irish adults being either overweight or obese is set to increase. Obesity increased by % from 1990 to 2001.
10. Frozen vegetables are lower in vitamins than fresh.
FALSE
Frozen veg are just as good a source of vitamins and minerals, and can even be better than fruit and veg that have been sitting on the shelves for a long time. Many frozen veg are frozen within a few hours of harvest, which means their vitamin content is kept at a maximum. They are also very convenient as there is no waste or preparation involved.