LivFit Healthy Living Quiz

The internet is filled with advice for living a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes information can be unclear or misleading. Our goal at CORE Chiropractic is to separate fact from fiction and suggest lifestyle changes that will help you live your best life. Following are twenty five common perceptions and the truth behind them:

1.  Salt does not cause high blood pressure.  True

Studies have confirmed that there is no link between salt consumption and high blood pressure. Instead, there is a strong correlation between high body weight, measured BMI and high blood pressure.

2.  Squats are bad for your knees.  False

There is no evidence that squat training creates damage to the knee joint. When executed correctly, squats can even reverse knee dysfunction and pain.  Start with a ball squat if you are new to squats to ensure good squat form while strengthening the hips.

3.  It is healthier to eat the egg whites than the whole egg.  False

Studies have disproved the myth that eating whole eggs raise cholesterol or heart disease risk. The yolk is where the majority of the nutrients and that reduce cholesterol and inflammation can be found.

4.  Ketogenic diets are dangerous.  False

These diets that focus on reducing sugar and carbohydrates in favor of healthy fats and protein have been shown to help overweight people lose weight, reduce type 2 diabetes, decrease autoimmune disorders, and improve degenerative neuromuscular diseases.

5.  It is possible to reduce belly fat without doing cardio.  True

To lose belly fat three things need to occur: Maintain a daily calorie deficit, reduce cortisol stress levels, and improve insulin sensitivity.  Cardio can help you burn calories and reduce insulin levels, but it can also raise cortisol levels.  Rising cortisol levels causes you to hold onto belly fat and increase your appetite.  Look to high intensity short duration interval training to minimize these drawbacks while toning your midsection.

6.  Lack of sleep can make you fat.  True

Missing out on adequate sleep will cause individuals to experience changes in hunger hormones, leading them to make poorer food choices and eat up to 300 additional calories per day.  When this happens chronically it will lead to massive weight gain and poor health.

7.  Vitamins provide energy to the body.  False

Vitamins are very important for the body and help to improve energy metabolism, but they do not directly provide energy to the body.  That is what food is for.  Healthy complex carbohydrates are the optimum, followed by healthy fat.  Protein is not used much for energy production but is used to repair and build muscle for activity.

8.  Drinking fruits and vegetables is not as healthy as eating them.  True

Fruit and vegetable juices (V8, Bolthouse, etc.) are not an alternative for people who don’t like eating fruits and veggies.  No matter how much the marketing companies that produce these juices try to persuade you, or how often your children insist that they are a viable option, they are not. In fact, these juices raise your diabetes risk by spiking the blood sugar and decreasing insulin sensitivity.

9.  Eating a high-protein diet will give you big muscles.  False

Individuals must overload muscles with resistance weight training, weights, to achieve measurable muscle growth.  Although eating protein does trigger your body to build and repair muscle, you must engage in training to cause muscles to increase in size.

10.  Calories are calories, it doesn’t matter when you eat them.  False

Timing your specific caloric intake to match your caloric needs is very important when attempting to optimize your body composition.  Take in your carbs in the morning when you need energy and consume more protein at night when you need to repair muscle tissue.

11. Fasting for 12 hours or greater can be part of a daily healthy eating plan.  True

Periodic fasting can be a very healthy part of your day if you have good blood sugar stability. This fasting period can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce belly fat.  It is best to perform this when stress levels are lower and activity is minimal.  A great time to fast is from 6pm to 6am.

12.  A banana for breakfast can be a sufficient breakfast in a pinch.   False

Small high carbohydrate breakfast foods are worse than not eating anything for breakfast.  A banana, cereal, fruit bar, and coffee drinks are loaded with sugar and have little to no protein or fiber to reduce the glycemic impact.  This leads to a rapid rise and fall of blood sugar levels creating increased appetite, slowed metabolism, and higher inflammation levels.

13.  Fatty foods can be consumed in moderation.  False

Unhealthy fats, like trans-fat containing foods, should not be consumed at all.  These cancer-causing foods create disease and poor health and should be avoided at all cost.  Healthy fat containing foods, those with Omega-3 fats, should be consumed in large quantities as they promote higher hormone production and increase metabolism.  Eating a healthy fat with each meal reduces overall caloric intake and will lead to healthier body composition.

14.  Eating a variety of foods from local sources is important for optimal health.  True

Variety in your diet is important since it broadens the vitamin and amino acid array that your body can use for tissue repair and growth.  Sourcing these foods from local venues improves the chances that your body will have what it needs as many vitamins and amino-acids break down the longer they sit on supermarket shelves.

15.  Protein smoothies are acceptable meal replacements.  True

A properly balanced protein smoothie with a carbohydrate, high protein, fiber, healthy fat, and great taste can take the place of a meal on occasion.  This is definitely not a long-term solution for most people, but can be a great alternative when you have to get out the door quickly.

16.  The USDA food pyramid should be flipped upside down.   True

The food pyramid, which indicates approximately what quantities of food we should eat by category, has been shown to be nearly backwards.  Diets full of grains, breads, pastas, and low in protein and fat have created an epidemic of sick and obese Americans.  The new food pyramid, supported by most responsible physicians, supports vegetables being the bulk of your food intake with a large amount of protein and healthy fats being consumed.  A smaller amount of fruits with a minimal consumption of grains and sugar is preferred for reducing weight and fat gain.

17.  A fruit smoothie is healthier than a Reese’s Peanut Buttercup.  False

The typical fruit smoothie has over 50g of sugar sourced from the fruit and added refined sugar. These smoothies also have no protein and little fiber to slow down the absorption and glycemic impact of this sugar creating a massive spike in blood sugar and insulin release.  When compared to the Reese’s Peanut Buttercup, which has only 21g of sugar and 5g of protein, the fruit smoothie looks like a horrible choice.  Neither are health foods and I’m not giving a pass to the Reese’s but the point is not to pay attention to the marketing of a product but rather to its true nutritional value.

18.  It is harder to lose body fat when your body fat percentage is over 30%.  True

Thirty percent body fat is often referred to as the “Metabolic Tipping Point”.  This arbitrary number is approximately the point where the amount of muscle mass and fat mass are equal.  When you are above the metabolic tipping point, fat mass is greater than muscle mass, creating an environment more resistant to fat burning.  Likewise, those that are well below the tipping point have an environment that promotes fat burning, often referred to as a fast metabolism.

19.  C-reactive protein is a better measure of heart attack risk than cholesterol.  True

C-reactive protein is a test for inflammation.  We are learning more about the role of inflammation and the link to heart disease and increased risk of heart attacks.  Likewise, research is revealing less of a correlation between cholesterol levels and heart attacks.  Focus your nutritional decisions on reducing inflammation rather than cholesterol and watch your heart disease risk factors plummet.

20.  Fish oil is the best supplement to aid in fat loss.  False

Fish oil is a great supplement to aid in decreasing inflammation and improving cardiovascular function.  However, L-glutamine is the best supplement to aid in fat loss.  It’s ability to elevate glutathione, your body’s natural detoxification antioxidant, helps to promote metabolism by reducing cellular oxidative stress. This translates to L-glutamine being an effective trash man, cleaning out the garbage created by eating poorly.

21.  A probiotic supplement is the optimal way to introduce healthy bacteria into the gut.   False

Although probiotics are helpful, they are limited in their ability to effectively deliver bacteria into the distal ends of the gut.  Several better sources of healthy gut bacteria are fermented foods such as: sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha tea, apple cider vinegar, and kim chi. Try these foods when needing to restore a healthy gut flora.

22.  An hour of running burns more calories than 20 minutes of high intensity interval training. True & False

Admittedly, this is a trick question.  The hour of running will burn more calories than the 20 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) if we only measure the exercise.  When you measure the amount of calories burned within a 24 period after the training, the increased metabolic rate that HIIT creates far exceeds the paltry number of calories burned while running.  If you want to lose weight choose HIIT over running every time.

23.  Healthy eating is expensive.  True and False

This is trick question number two.  No doubt meat and produce is more expensive than junk food. However, if you plan your healthy meals you will find less wasted produce and little to no leftovers that have to be thrown away.  Then factor in the improvement in your health that good nutrition causes and you will see big savings in fewer doctor visits and lower medication costs.

24.  Eating healthy is hard.   True

Eating healthy is hard but it is worth it.  Changing a behavior patterns is never easy at first. Going against the flow of our culture and our own past habits does require a lot of energy. However, as your good behavior patterns become easier to follow, the benefits will become more visible too. Give yourself some time and grace and then wait for the changes.

25.  I can learn more about nutrition and exercise at