Weekly Health Quiz: Mitochondria, Sweeteners and SAD

1 While a healthy diet is foundational for healthy mitochondrial function, one supplement known to provide powerful mitochondrial benefits is:

• PQQ

  Your diet is one of the most important tools you can use to take control of your health. But supplements can also be useful, especially when it comes to improving mitochondrial function. One particularly powerful one is pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). Learn more.

• Resveratrol
• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
• Glutathione

2 Which of the following statements is accurate?

• Raw organic milk is the No. 1 cause of foodborne illness
• Pathogens cannot easily grow and multiply in raw butter

  Unfounded fears of raw dairy even extend to raw butter, but research shows raw butter is not a good medium for pathogenic growth, and that the chance of pathogenic Listeria growth is minimal. Learn more.

• Raw organic milk and butter are among the top 10 foods most likely to cause foodborne illness
• Raw milk cannot cause illness as it is naturally sterile

3 Two recent reports reveal a majority of mainstream health websites such as WebMD and Healthline are breaking European law by:

• Recommending nutritional supplements for specific health conditions
• Discouraging conventional drugs and treatments
• Gathering and sharing users' personal health data with third parties without explicit consent to do so

  Dozens of popular health websites are tracking, storing and sharing your personal data without explicit consent. This practice violates the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which requires websites to request and obtain explicit consent for the sharing of "special category data," which includes health data. Learn more.

• Selling fake drugs

4 Which of the following is among the most effective treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?

• Antidepressants
• Massage therapy
• Grounding
• Light therapy

  Light therapy, using full-spectrum lighting to artificially mimic sunlight, is among the most effective treatment options for SAD. While light therapy can take up to four weeks before you notice an improvement, it's been shown to be more effective than antidepressants for moderate to severe depression. Learn more.

5 Which of the following sweeteners contains stevia components made from GE yeast fermentation opposed to the real plant, yet is marketed as "nonartificial"?

• EverSweet

  Cargill's EverSweet contains rebaudiosides D and rebaudiosides M, two stevia components obtained not from the plant but through the fermentation of genetically engineered yeast, yet it's marketed as "nonartificial." Learn more.

• Splenda Naturals
• Truvia
• PureVia

6 Breast implants may be made of the following cheap industrial material:

• Latex
• Silicone — the same type used to seal windows

  An estimated 500,000 women globally have been affected by defective breast implants made of cheap industrial silicone, the same type of silicone used to seal windows, according to the film. Learn more.

• Thermoplastic
• Polyethylene

7 Which of the following strategies has the potential to effectively improve global climate?

• Meat analogues and veganism
• Planting more trees
• Carbon sequestration efforts, such as making and adding biochar to soils and building materials

  Pollution and destructive agricultural practices are devastating the ecosystem and influencing our global weather patterns. Carbon sequestration efforts, such as making and adding biochar to farm soils and building materials of all kinds, is a simple and inexpensive strategy that can remediate much of this damage. Learn more.

• Replacing monocultures with greater plant varieties