Here is a quiz to see how savvy you are in terms of how to achieve great health and/or avoid sickness and disease. The answers follow at the end.
1. Laxatives are a safe and effective treatment for constipation. True or false
2. Which of the following is a consequence of chronic stress?
B. Elevated blood pressure
C. Getting sick more often
D. Carb cravings
E. Hormonal imbalances
F. All of the above are consequences of stress
3. The average person passes smelly gas 25 times per day. True or false
4. Doctors can only prescribe medications for the conditions that the FDA says they should be used for. True or false
5. Which of the following is NOT a symptom of low thyroid (hypothyroidism)?
B. Hair loss
C. Sore throat
D. Depression
E. Weight gain
6. The best way to reduce your colon cancer risk is to get a colonoscopy. True or false
7. Weight gain is a normal consequence of aging. True or false
8. Which is NOT one of the best ways to treat a fever?
B. Resting
C. Taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen
D. Drinking fluids
E. Taking probiotics
9. You don’t have to eat a healthy diet as long as you exercise regularly. True or false
10. Which are helpful ways to keep your brain sharp?
B. Challenging your brain with books, crossword puzzles, word scrambles, and other mental exercises
C. Getting enough Vitamin B12
D. Regular exercise
E. All of the above
F. None of the above
11. Energy drinks (like Monster) are safe and a good way to boost your energy during the day. True or false
12. What sneaky, common fungus is an underlying factor behind the symptoms/conditions below:
13. Medical errors are the number three cause of death in the US. True or false
14. What is the single biggest factor that determines whether you will enjoy great health or be plagued by sickness and disease?
B. How much water you drink each day
C. Taking all your medications as prescribed
D. Your gut
E. Regular exercise
15. How do each of these habits affect your risk of heart disease?
B. You get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Raise, lower or no effect
C. You use sunscreen every time you’re in the sun. Raise, lower or no effect
D. You use “heart-healthy” polyunsaturated seed oils and margarine. Raise, lower or no effect
E. You floss regularly. Raise, lower or no effect
16. Which of the following does NOT cause feelings of hunger?
B. Lacking nutrients
C. Having high levels of stress
D. Medications
E. All of the above can cause hunger
17. Every major drug company is a CONVICTED FELON, having been fined multi-millions for lying, fudging or destroying safety studies, sweeping side effects under the rug, or downplaying the risks of their products. True or false
18. Which of the following is NOT a cause of chronic halitosis (bad breath)?
B. Not using mouthwash
C. Gum disease
D. Eating onions and garlic
E. Sinus problems
19. The evening news is your best source of information about a variety of health-related topics and what steps you should take to prevent sickness and disease. True or false.
20. If someone has an autoimmune disease (such as lupus, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, MS, Type 1 diabetes or Celiac disease) they are likely to develop another one. True or false
Answers:
Here are the answers to the quiz questions. Let’s see how you did!
1. False. Laxatives use can weaken the intestinal muscles that are responsible for carrying out the contractions (called peristalsis) that move your wastes through the intestinal tract. So weakening these muscles ultimately makes constipation even worse.
Plus you can eventually get to the point where you become 100 percent dependent on laxatives, and you can’t have a bowel movement without them.
In addition, consistently having laxative-assisted BMs can upset your gut microbiome to the point where the harmful microbes have the “upper hand.” This too can worsen constipation, as well as encourage a leaky gut wall and weaken your immune system.
2. F. All of the above are consequences of stress. Stress can cause a myriad of symptoms and health challenges in the body, including all of the above-mentioned items.
3. False. It’s actually normal to pass gas about 14-18 times a day.
Most “normal” gas has little or no odor and is simply the leftover gas that your gut microbiome was not able to absorb during digestion. But chronic, excessive, or putrid gas is a sign of a problem in the GI tract.
4. False. Doctors are free to prescribe any medication they wish to treat a condition—a practice known as “off-labeling”—allegedly without interference or consequence from the FDA.
Unfortunately, we saw exactly the opposite play out during COVID. Doctors were experiencing wildly successful results very early on in treating COVID with ivermectin, but the FDA was quick to squash that practice (remember the “horse dewormer” ad campaign?) and vilify those doctors (likely due to the fact that ivermectin was no longer a highly profitable drug, unlike COVID shots and remdesivir). Only recently has ivermectin been vindicated as an effective COVID treatment, as studies show it reduced excess COVID deaths by an impressive 74 percent.
5. C. Sore Hypothyroidism can cause a variety of symptoms, but that does not include a sore throat.
6. False. A colonoscopy will only detect cancer AFTER it has occurred. It does nothing to reduce your risk of developing colon cancer.
Some of the best ways to reduce your colon cancer risk are to eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid sugars and refined carbs, get enough Vitamin D, get regular exercise, avoid polyunsaturated seed oils and help maintain your gut health with probiotics.
7. False. While metabolism does slow as we age and hormonal changes kick in, that should not automatically mean weight gain. If your weight is creeping up, this is the time to look at your diet and exercise level and make necessary changes.
In addition, hormones may be playing a part in your weight gain, especially thyroid hormones and/or cortisol, so getting tested and addressing any hormonal issues can also help get you on the road to weight loss.
8. C. Taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen. When you run a fever and take Motrin or Tylenol, the drugs do quickly lower your temperature, but they also silence your body’s natural defenses and cripple the actions of your immune system. As a result, you enable the invading infection or virus to survive and thrive inside of you.
Plus acetaminophen can deplete cellular levels of glutathione—your body’s master antioxidant—making you more vulnerable to disease-causing free radicals.
9. False. No amount of exercise can undo or compensate for the devastating health effects of an unhealthy diet.
10. E. All of the above.
11. False. Energy drinks are not merely an innocent shot of caffeine to boost your energy.
Here are just a few of the dangers of consuming energy drinks:
- Heart palpitations
- Heart attack
- Panic; anxiety attacks
- Chest pain
- Liver stress (due to the liver having to metabolize all of the caffeine)
- Elevated blood glucose; insulin resistance
- Death
- Rotted teeth
- Accumulating fat around the middle; aka an “apple shape”
- Fatigue and low moods (after the caffeine wears off)
12. All of the symptoms/conditions listed can be the result of Candida overgrowth in the body.
13. True. In the US, medical errors are the third leading cause of death. Most of those deaths are related to incorrect diagnosing of the patient’s condition and administering pharmaceutical products.
In addition to misdiagnosis and medications, “medical errors” also include unnecessary surgery, surgery performed on the wrong body part, getting the wrong treatment, hospital errors and hospital acquired infections (C-diff is one of the most common).
Note that the CDC does not report death statistics on medical errors. This is at least partially due to inadequate data collection and the fact that death certificates don’t include a coding class for medical errors.
14. D. Your gut. Although many factors have an effect on your level of health, far and away the most significant is the health of your gut, primarily because your gut houses 80 percent of your immune system and is responsible for nutrient absorption and elimination of wastes.
15. Raise; lower; raise; raise; lower.
16. E. All of the above can cause hunger.
17. True.
18. B. Not using mouthwash and Eating onions and garlic. Mouthwash merely covers up bad breath for a short time, and eating onions and garlic only causes temporary—not chronic—bad breath.
19. False. The mainstream news receives 70-90 percent of its advertising revenue from the pharmaceutical industry, so they are the WORST sources of information regarding health topics because of rampant bias.
20. True. Once someone’s immune system is hypersensitive (as is the case with autoimmune conditions), it is very likely that it may strike another area or system of the body.
Where have I heard this before?
If these questions rang a bell with you, it’s probably because I’ve written about each of these issues several times! If you’ve been a reader of mine for a while, you have certainly heard these before.
Now if some of the questions tripped you up, no worries. The important point is that you keep reading, learning, and working toward a healthier you!
And with our Holistic Blends line of products and my health coaching services, I will continue in my mission to do all I can to help YOU improve your health!
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
