News

If you're like most Canadians, you consider yourself in the know when it comes to nutrition. According to the Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition, 87 per cent of Canadians say they have some knowledge of nutrition and one in four believe they're extremely well informed on the topic.

Despite our perceived nutrition expertise, many of us continue to be confused about dietary cholesterol, trans fats and concepts such as the glycemic index. It's no wonder when we're bombarded with an overwhelming amount of health information that's often conflicting.

Tomorrow is the start of National Nutrition Month, a time when dietitians across the country educate Canadians about the importance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating habits.

To find out how much you really know about nutrition -- and to fine-tune your healthy-eating skills -- complete my short nutrition quiz. Doing so will sharpen your nutrition know-how and pinpoint topics you need to study up on.

1. The amount of cholesterol you eat is a major factor in your LDL (bad) blood cholesterol reading. True or false?

Answer: False. Cholesterol in foods such as egg yolks, shrimp, meat, poultry, fish and higher-fat dairy has little effect on most people's blood cholesterol. One reason: The intestine absorbs only half of the cholesterol we eat and the rest is excreted. The body is also efficient at turning cholesterol into bile, a digestive aid that's stored in the gallbladder. Saturated and trans fats are the main culprits in raising LDL cholesterol.

Still, Health Canada recommends that you limit your intake to 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day. (One egg yolk has 190 mg of cholesterol; a 90-gram serving of shrimp has 195 mg.)

2. Non-hydrogenated margarine has fewer calories than butter. True or false?

Answer: False. Whether it's butter, non-hydrogenated margarine, stick margarine or vegetable oil, all dietary fats are equally caloric at 120 calories per tablespoon.

3. "Extra-light" olive oil is not healthier than regular olive oil. True or false?

Answer: True. In this case, "light" refers only to the colour and flavour of the oil; it has nothing to do with the amount of fat or calories. Extra-light olive oil is pale and mild because it has been ultrarefined. It has a higher smoke point (the temperature at which oils start to break down) than regular or extra-virgin olive oil, so it's best suited for use in baking, stir-frying or any dish where a neutral-tasting oil is needed.

4. Some mornings there just isn't time to sit down to a bowl of cereal. Pick the fast-food breakfast with the least amount of fat: a) Tim Hortons breakfast sandwich with egg, sausage and cheese; b) Starbucks blueberry scone; c) McDonald's Egg McMuffin; or d) Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich.

Answer: c. You probably guessed that the lower-fat breakfast is not the Enormous Omelet Sandwich at a whopping 44 grams of fat (not to mention 730 calories and 2,000 mg of sodium). That's more fat than most all-dressed burgers deliver. The lowest-fat menu item -- while it's not perfect -- is the Egg McMuffin at 12 grams of fat (including 4.5 grams of saturated fat).

5. Nothing beats a bowl of porridge on a cold winter morning. Which hot cereal will keep you feeling full the longest: a) instant oats; b) one-minute oats; c) three-minute oats; or d) steel-cut oats?

Answer: d. Nutritionally speaking, there's no difference between these hot cereals; each provides four grams of fibre per half-cup dry. However, if you want your breakfast to carry you to lunchtime, choose oats that take longer to cook. Compared with instant and quick-cooking oats, steel-cut oats are lower on the glycemic index scale. That means they're more slowly digested and converted to sugar in your bloodstream. Instant are cut into tiny pieces to reduce cooking time, which also means they're more quickly digested.

6. A typical bagel is equal to how many slices of bread: a) 2.5; b)3; c) 4; d) 6?

Answer: c. Most bagels you buy with your morning coffee contain as much carbohydrate as four to five slices of bread. Great Canadian Bagel's poppyseed bagel has 71 grams of carbohydrates. Tim Hortons flaxseed bagel has 58 grams. (A food guide serving of bread contains 15 grams of carbohydrate). If you're watching your waistline, you're better off eating only half a bagel.

7. One cup (250 ml) of fruit juice is equal to how many servings of fruit: a) ½; b) 1; c) 2; d) 3?

Answer: c. One cup of juice adds two fruit servings to your diet. (One serving equals one-half cup or 125 millilitres.) Stick to one serving of unsweetened fruit juice a day and get the rest from fresh or dried fruit to boost your fibre intake.

8. Fresh fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than frozen. True or false?

Answer: False. When produce is out of season, don't discount frozen. Frozen fruits and vegetables can actually be higher in nutrients than their fresh counterparts because they're flash-frozen immediately after picking.

9. When you read labels, the "sugars" category on the nutrition fact boxes tells you how much: a) table sugar has been added; b) natural sugars are in food; c) other sweeteners, such as honey, have been added; or d) all of the above.

Answer: d. The sugar numbers include both naturally occurring (e.g. fruit or milk sugars) and refined ones added during processing (e.g. sucrose, honey, corn syrup). That means you'll find "sugars" listed on the nutrition label for 100-per-cent fruit juice, plain milk and unflavoured yogurt even though they contain no refined sugar.

How nutrition-savvy are you? Add up the number of correct responses.

8 or 9: Excellent.

6 or 7: Not bad.

5 or less: Uh-oh.