Weekly health quiz — Agriculture, moringa and shrimp

1 Moringa tree is part of which of the following plant family?

• Caesalpiniaceae (bean family)
• Brassica (cabbage family)

  While Moringa looks nothing like broccoli, it is part of the brassica family and is considered a vegetable, despite growing like a tree. Learn more.

• Convolvulaceae (bindweed family)
• Oxalidaceae (wood sorrel family)

2 Aside from poor soil that prevent water retention, which of the following agricultural techniques adds to the problem by speeding up the runoff?

• No-till
• Crop rotation
• Drain tiling (artificial drainage)

  The speed of agricultural runoff is largely dictated by poor soil conditions that prevent water retention, but artificial drainage also appears to play a decisive role, adding to the problem by speeding up the runoff. According to one research engineer, drainage tiles double the speed at which nitrates enter waterways. Learn more.

• Monocropping

3 Scientific analysis of primary and secondary prevention trials has revealed the use of statins postpone death by:

• Years
• Months
• Weeks
• Days

  A 2015 meta-analysis of 11 statin drug studies found statin use postponed death by a mere 3.2 days in primary prevention trials and 4.1 days in secondary prevention trials. Learn more.

4 Which of the following is thought to raise your Alzheimer's risk?

• Lifestyle choices that raise your insulin resistance

  Alzheimer's is largely preventable through healthy lifestyle strategies; anything that promotes insulin resistance will ultimately raise your risk of Alzheimer's. Learn more.

• Lifestyle choices that lower your insulin resistance
• Electromagnetic field avoidance
• Deep sleep

5 The following strategy has been found to shift your circadian rhythm, either forward or backward, depending on the time you perform it:

• Grounding (walking barefoot)
• Exercise

  Exercise can cause shifts in your circadian rhythm. The magnitude and direction of that shift depends on the time you exercise. Exercising at 7 a.m. or between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. will shift your body clock to an earlier time. When exercising between the hours of 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., you shift your body clock to a later time. Learn more.

• Singing
• Bathing

6 Testing of imported shrimp found that:

• Most of the shrimp was clean, although it did have E. coli on it
• E. coli was prevalent in all batches of the shrimp
• 89 percent contained bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics

  Rubin found that 17 percent or 2 out of every 10 packages he tested were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Of those, 89 percent contained bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, and of those, 33 percent tested positive for ESBL-producing bacteria. He also found an ESBL superbug on shrimp that came from Vietnam in a package labeled "organic." Learn more.

• No organic shrimp was contaminated

7 The following is a highly promising strategy to prevent Alzheimer's and reverse mild cases:

• The drug Aricept
• The drug Namenda
• A high-carb, low-fat diet
• The ReCODE protocol

  The ReCODE protocol, which involves identifying the drivers of cognitive decline (such as pathogens, toxins and metabolic changes), then targeting those in a personalized program that includes dietary and lifestyle changes, allows your brain to create and maintain synapses again, thereby treating the root of cognitive decline. It offers some of the best hope for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment, as all drug trials have so far failed to reverse the disease. Learn more.