Weekly Health Quiz: Metabolism, Influenza and Fake News

1 According to recent research, to boost metabolism and increase energy expenditure you need to:

• Decrease protein intake
• Increase protein intake
• Decrease net carb intake

  Recent research shows that as your carbohydrate ratio diminishes, energy expenditure increases. On average, those eating just 20 grams of carbs a day burned 250 calories a day more than those eating 60 grams. Learn more.

• Increase net carb intake

2 The latest strategy the media and industry is using to restrict your access to the truth under the guise of "fake news" is:

• Blacklisting sites based on popularity
• Expanding Snopes
• Whitelisting sites
• NewsGuard site ratings for trustworthiness

  NewsGuard will rate online news brands based on nine criteria of credibility and transparency, ostensibly to help readers avoid fake news. Learn more.

3 Of the 40 retailers evaluated by the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families' Mind the Store campaign, how many have made meaningful progress at improving the chemical safety of the products, food and packaging they sell?

• About half

  About half the 40 retailers evaluated by the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families' Mind the Store campaign have made meaningful progress at improving the chemical safety of the products, food and packaging they sell during 2018. Learn more.

• None
• One-quarter
• Three-fourths

4 Which of the following remedies may have played a significant role in the deaths of 50 million people during the influenza epidemic of 1918?

• Homeopathic remedies
• Aspirin

  Leading medical journals of the day actually recommended using 25 aspirin a day to suppress the fever in patients suffering from influenza. Many of the people who died from influenza were found to have bleeding in the lungs, a strange symptom of the flu and a known side effect from aspirin overdose. Learn more.

• Flu vaccine
• Lead

5 Which of the following plants produce red berries that are toxic to humans and should not be used?

• Nanking cherry
• Chokeberry
• Honeysuckle

  Climbing honeysuckle varieties can produce red berries that are toxic to humans. If ingested, you may experience side effects such as stomach upset, vomiting,diarrheaand nausea. Learn more.

• Red currant

6 What is the approximate death toll from cervical cancer each year in the U.S.?

• Zero, thanks to the HPV vaccine
• Approximately 40,000
• Nearly 4 million
• About 4,000

  As of 2018, about 13,240 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed, and about 4,170 will die from it. If you get regular pap smears, your chances of dying from cervical cancer is 0.00002 percent. Learn more.

7 A controversial hypothesis suggests the central immune dysfunction in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is associated with:

• Retrovirus infection

  A retrovirus family known asxenotropic murine leukemia virus-related viruses(XMRVa) may play a causal role in chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic myalgic encephalopathy and other diseases, including autism. Learn more.

• Bacterial infection
• Fungal infection
• Protozoa infection