Weekly Health Quiz: Sugar, Stroke and Herbicides

1 Which of the following amino acids are considered "essential," as your body cannot produce them and must obtain them from your diet?

• Alanine, cysteine, glycine
• Arginine, glutamine, proline
• Asparagine, serine, tyrosine
• Leucine, methionine, tryptophan

  There are 20 basic amino acids that make up the proteins in your body. Nine of them — histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, threonine and valine — are considered "essential" as they must be obtained from your diet. Moringa is an excellent protein source, containing 19 amino acids in total, including all nine essential amino acids. Learn more.

2 According to more than 40,000 plaintiffs, which of the following herbicides is accused of having caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

• Roundup

  More than 40,000 people in the U.S. have filed lawsuits alleging exposure to Roundup is the cause of their cancer. Once a rare cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is now the seventh most common cancer in U.S. men and women. Learn more.

• 2,4-D
• Atrazine
• Dicamba

3 Recent research found the more added sugar your diet contains, the:

• Higher your intake of important vitamins and minerals
• Lower your intake of important vitamins and minerals

  According to recent research, the more added sugar your diet contains, the lower your intake of important micronutrients such as calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc. Learn more.

• More likely you are to exercise
• The less likely you are to exercise

4 When suffering a stroke, when is the right time to start neurocognitive training to optimize neuroplasticity and recovery of lost function?

• Within a year
• Within three months
• Immediately (in the ambulance or in the ER, if possible)

  It's imperative to rapidly implement neurocognitive training after a stroke, as your brain circuits need the proper stimulus to reroute and make new connections. Ideally, start as you've been diagnosed with a stroke at the hospital, or even while you're in the ambulance to the hospital. Learn more.

• Within one to three weeks

5 Who headed up the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2002 and 2009, and in 2010 became the president of Merck's vaccine division?

• Dr. Robert Redfield
• Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald
• Dr. Tom Frieden
• Dr. Julie Gerberding

  Dr. Julie Gerberding was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2002 and 2009. After leaving the CDC, she took over Merck's vaccine division, where she has so far made more than $16.5 million on company stock options alone. Learn more.

6 Which of the following is the most important in terms of priming a child's immune system to make it function optimally?

• Vaginal birth

  Microorganisms in your gastrointestinal tract play an integral part in your health. The groundwork for your microbiome is laid from birth. A baby inherits the microbiome of its mother during vaginal delivery, which primes their immune system so that it can learn to function optimally. Skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding also provide valuable microbes. Learn more.

• Feeding commercial probiotic yogurt
• Feeding only raw foods during first two years of life
• Skin-to-skin contact directly after birth and during infancy

7 Vaccine research and development taking place in Biosafety Level 3 and 4 laboratories is primarily conducted for the purpose of creating:

• Life-saving vaccines against common transmissible diseases affecting the general public
• Vaccines against weaponized pathogens developed in the same or similar lab

  Vaccine research and development taking place in Biosafety Level 3 and 4 laboratories is primarily conducted for the purpose of creating vaccines against weaponized pathogens developed in the same (or similar) laboratory, so that when used as a bioweapon, the nation can protect its own allies. Learn more.

• Vaccines against rare but natural diseases affecting vulnerable populations
• Vaccines against hitherto unknown disease-causing pathogens that may arise from the bombardment of the earth by meteor showers