Weekly Health Quiz: Plants, Parasites and Potassium

1 Which of the following plant compounds has been found to offer significant protection against age-related decline in lung health?

• Flavonoids

  Anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid, have been shown to slow the gradual decline in lung health associated with aging. Those in the highest quartile of anthocyanin intake, compared to those in the lowest quartile, had a significantly reduced annual decline in three lung function measurements over time. Learn more.

• Ascorbic acid
• Vitamin E
• Carotenoids

2 According to a recent survey, American's confidence in vaccines has:

• Declined in the past decade

  The percentage of American adults who believe it's "very important" to vaccinate their children has declined by 11 percent over the past decade, from 82 percent in 2008 to 71 percent in May of this year. A mere 59 percent now believe they've benefited, compared to 75 percent in 2008. Learn more.

• Tragically, due to media endorsements has increased substantially in the past decade
• Actually remained stable between 2008 and 2018

3 Water-borne pathogens can cause severe disease. The parasite Cryptosporidium has become particularly widespread in recent years. Which of the following is the most common source of exposure to this parasite?

• Private pools and hot tubs
• Public pools and hot tubs, especially hotels

  Hotel pools and hot tubs have become notorious for spreading a diarrheal disease caused by microscopic parasites known as Cryptosporidium. Learn more.

• Beaches on the ocean
• Lakes and rivers

4 Toxic and infectious prions cause mad cow disease in cattle and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and moose, the latter of which is currently on the rise in the U.S. What is the root cause of these diseases?

• Routine use of antibiotics in farming, giving rise to mutated bacteria
• Use of veterinary vaccines, giving rise to mutated viruses
• Fungi growing on contaminated animal feed
• Factory farming practices in which herbivores are forced to eat animal byproducts

  Mad cow disease and CWD are essentially man-made diseases, created through modern factory farming methods in which herbivores are forced into cannibalism. One of the primary modes of transmission of mad cow is feeding cows bone meal and waste products from other cattle infected with the disease. Similarly, CWD is the result of domesticating wild animals and feeding them an unnatural diet. Learn more.

5 This earthy tasting root vegetable, a pale cousin of the carrot, contains beneficial levels of potassium and folate.

• Parsnip

  Parsnips, a less-popular relative of carrots, are a hardy, cool-weather root vegetable that sweetens with a touch of frost. Learn more.

• Turnip
• Rutabaga
• Potato

6 Which of the following has been identified as the root cause triggering the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

• Radical increase in prescription antibiotics related to antibiotic resistant strains
• Overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture

  Antibiotics in medicine have been widely overprescribed and have also been routinely used for growth promotion purposes in livestock, giving rise to bacteria that are now resistant to one or more antibiotics. Learn more.

• Unsanitary slaughtering practices
• Massive use of glyphosate (RoundUp) at the rate of nearly 5 billion pounds per year annually worldwide