Nutrition Quiz: Myth or Fact?

By: Isadora Teich
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Nutrition Quiz: Myth or Fact?
Image: Tara Moore/DigitalVision/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Food science and food popular knowledge have come a long way over the last century or so! From the rise of milk as the ultimate health food to the rise of the vegan movement, which says that no one should drink milk ever, so much has changed! Everyone wants to eat healthily and take care of themselves as best as they can. However, it can seem hard to do when there is so much information floating around. There are a lot of people who will try to tell you what's good for you, but are they credible? 

Certain crazes also seem to sweep the world of food from time to time. There seems to be a new "superfood" that will solve all of your problems every month. But are all of these foods really super? And is gluten really something to fear? A lot of people are really not sure. How many nutrition hacks out there were created just for clicks, and how many will genuinely improve your health? It can be very difficult to tell. 

If you are a food lover who knows the myths and fads from the hard food facts, put your nutrition knowledge to the test with this tricky and delicious quiz! 

Is all fat bad for you?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Artificial trans fats are what negatively affect your heart and health. Saturated fats do not cause health problems in moderate amounts.

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Is having any coffee at all bad for you?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

People have been arguing over whether coffee is good or bad for you for over a century. While drinking too much is not good, coffee is actually one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the Western diet.

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Energy drinks are worse for you than soda: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Many energy drinks have more sugar and calories than a cup of Pepsi of equal size. While they claim the energy boost comes from the vitamins in them, it's really just a sugar rush combined with caffeine and occasionally other substances.

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Is eating egg yolks bad for everyone?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While diabetics might want to avoid egg yolks, eating eggs in moderation is actually good for most people. They are very nutritious and raise your good cholesterol, rather than your bad cholesterol.

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Does eating fat really always make you fat?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While eating an excess of fat is bad, fat is not actually the health villain it has made out to be. We think of fat this way largely because the sugar industry funded studies to make fat look worse for you than sugar decades ago.

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Are oranges a good way to get vitamin C?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Oranges are a solid source of vitamin C. Others include broccoli, papaya and red bell pepper.

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Is red meat always a killer?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Red meat is one of the biggest modern health villains. However, as long as the red meat is unprocessed, studies have shown little evidence that it will cause heart disease, diabetes or cancer in most people.

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There's nothing diet about diet soda: True or False?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The false sweeteners in diet sodas lead to hard to control food cravings. In fact, according to a University of Texas study, people who drink 3 diet sodas a week have been found to be more than 40% more likely to be obese.

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Will eating a high protein diet damage the kidneys of healthy people?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Those with kidney problems are generally advised to cut back on their protein intake. However, for most people, eating a high protein diet will not negatively affect their kidneys at all.

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Are all calories the same regardless of which foods they come from?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While a cheeseburger from McDonald's and an avocado might have the same amount of calories, they are still vastly different foods. Just because two foods have the same number of calories does not mean that they have the same nutrients or will affect your hormones and health in the same way.

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Are leafy greens some of the most nutritionally dense vegetables?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Leafy greens are full of healthy vitamins and minerals. They are some of the best things you can eat to improve your heart health.

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Are low-fat, high-carb diets the healthiest?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It is a popular myth that low-fat and high-carb diets cause weight loss and prevent disease. This has been explored in multiple scientific studies and been debunked by all of them.

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Can spicy food really boost your metabolism?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hot peppers have been shown to have a metabolism-boosting effect. However, if you can't take the heat, don't worry. Milder peppers may have some calorie-burning potential too!

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Is eating a high-protein diet bad for your bones over the long term?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

One common myth is that eating a high-protein diet sucks the calcium out of your bones and can lead to osteoporosis. In the long term, however, high protein intake has been shown to lessen osteoporosis and fractures in old age.

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Most peanut butters you buy in stores are bad for you: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While peanuts themselves are great for you, most store-bought peanut butter is highly processed and loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats. Yikes.

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When foods are labeled "natural," does that actually mean anything?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The FDA does not regulate the use of the word, so it's more or less a marketing buzzword companies put on everything from fresh fruit to Cheetos. Always read the ingredients of what you eat and don't rely on labels.

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Cooking food always destroys its nutrients: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While many raw food advocates claim that cooking food makes it nutrition-less and cancer-causing, that is not accurate. Some foods release more of their nutrients when prepared in certain ways.

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Are bananas a good plant-based source of potassium?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bananas are one of many plant-based potassium sources. Others include potatoes, broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes.

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Most nutrition bars are not really all that nutritious: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While some brands do make healthy nutrition bars, most do not. Often they are loaded with sugar, trans fats, sodium and all sorts of additives.

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Does eating junk food really help you handle stress?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While many people reach for snack foods in times of stress, it might not be helping. According to one psychiatric study, people who eat a lot of highly processed foods are more likely to be depressed than those who eat the least amount.

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Potatoes are good for you: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While some consider potatoes to be empty carbs, that is wrong. They actually contain healthy phytochemicals, like flavanoids.

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Can you really eat as much as you want, as long as it's healthy?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While you are better off eating 600 calories of vegetables than 600 calories of cookies, overeating is never good for you. Moderation is always key.

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Are the calories you eat at night more fattening than those eaten during the day?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Calorie counts are the same for a food whether you eat it at 3 a.m. or p.m. This is an old myth that has to go!

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Most yogurt is not good for you: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While yogurt with live active cultures is good for your gut, most yogurts you can buy in a store are not. This is because they are high in sugar, which can exacerbate stomach issues.

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Low-carb diets are better for you than low-fat diets: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Low-carb diets are not for everyone, but they have been proven way more beneficial than low-fat diets in over a dozen studies. They are especially useful for people with certain conditions, like obesity and diabetes.

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Only those with celiac disease can benefit from a gluten-free diet: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Studies have shown that gluten-free diets can benefit people with gluten sensitivity, IBS and epilepsy, too. While not everyone needs to go gluten-free for their health, it can benefit people with certain conditions.

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Weight loss is all bout willpower: True or false.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are 3 main body types, some of which are more prone to store fat than others. While leading a healthy lifestyle is important, your genetics, hormones, overall health, age and numerous other factors play a big role in how easily you can gain or lose muscle and fat.

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Is sugar harmful because it's just "empty calories"?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Many experts believe that sugar is behind many of the world's biggest health-killers. These include obesity, heart disease and cancer.

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Are "negative calorie foods" a real thing?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some people say that certain foods, like celery, are "negative calorie foods" because you burn more calories chewing them than you gain eating them. That has no scientific basis.

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Most chocolate is not good for you: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While chocolate does contain healthy polyphenols, most of these are taken out during processing. If you want your chocolate to have any health benefits, it needs to be 70% cacao or higher.

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Is high fructose corn syrup worse than sugar?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

High fructose corn syrup has been used in foods for decades because of how cheap it is, and has gotten a reputation for being even worse than sugar. However, studies indicate that your body can't tell the difference between HFCS and regular sugar, and both are bad for you.

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Is saturated fat a killer?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nutrition is often more about balance than avoiding "evil" or "bad" foods. Recent studies have found that consuming reasonable amounts of saturated fat does not increase your stroke or heart attack risk and is actually good for you.

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Lowering salt intake reduces your heart attack risk: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The myth that consuming salt is bad for your heart and causes strokes and heart attacks has been out there for a long time. For the average person, eating less salt has no effect on these things at all, though it does slightly reduce blood pressure.

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Wheat is good for you: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Modern wheat has been genetically tampered with and is far less nutritious than old school varieties of wheat. It can also increase inflammatory markers in those with certain conditions.

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Eating many small meals throughout the day speeds up your metabolism: True or false?
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Eating 5-6 small meals instead of 2-3 larger meals has no effect on calorie burning at all. While for some people, this may offer some benefits, it can also cause others to accumulate more fat.

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