How much do you really know about healthy eating and balanced diets? Try this quiz on nutrition, health and weight loss to find out what you already know and what you need to learn more about. Put your nutrition knowledge to the test.

Which of the following foods contain significant amounts of the essential long-chain omega-3 fatty acids?

• a) HIGH-FAT, COLD WATER FISH
• b) AVOCADOS
• c) OLIVE OIL

Answer: High-fat, cold-water fish such as salmon or mackerel are rich in the long-chain omega-3 fats which are essential to good health. Although avocados and olive oil contain primarily monounsaturated fat (another type of 'good' fat), they don't contain a substantial amount of omega-3s. A high-quality EFA formula, such as Maxi-EFA makes it easy to boost your EFA intake, and is particularly valuable if you don't each fish often.

How much protein per kg of bodyweight do you need to maintain a healthy toned body?

• a) 1 GRAM
• b) 2 GRAMS
• c) 3 GRAMS

Answer: For optimal muscle tone, your muscles need around 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. So, a 50-kilogram woman would aim for 100 grams of protein per day. Protein feeds your muscles the essential fuel they need to help recover after a tough workout in the gym or studio. Without enough protein, your muscles won't repair themselves properly after exercise and you'll end up losing muscle tone.

The nutrient that has the biggest impact on your appetite and keeps you feeling fuller for longer is:

• a) FAT
• b) CARBOHYDRATE
• c) PROTEIN

Answer: In general, protein-rich foods (chicken, turkey, salmon, corned beef, tuna, lean meat, low-fat cottage cheese, yoghurt and Promax) are a lot better at giving you that pleasant 'full' feeling than foods high in carbohydrate or fat.

Snacking makes you fat?

• a) TRUE
• b) FALSE

Answer: False. The bottom line is the total number of calories you consume each day, not how often you consume them. Grazing (eating little and often) rather than gorging (eating 2-3 big meals) also takes the edge off hunger so you eat less at meals. An approach that's popular with many women is to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and then have a Promax Diet shake as a mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon snack.

Canned or frozen fruits and vegetables contain fewer nutrients than the fresh fruits and vegetables.

• a) TRUE
• b) FALSE

Answer: False. Truth is there's usually little difference. The canned or frozen varieties may even have more nutrients, such as vitamins and other antioxidants, because they're processed at their peak, during harvest.

Grapefruit juice will help you lose weight

• a) TRUE
• b) FALSE

Answer: The most important part of any diet designed for weight loss is to consume fewer calories than you burn. Although grapefruit is an excellent source of nutrients like vitamin C and pectin (a form of soluble fiber) there's still no convincing evidence to show that it has any kind of magic effect on weight loss.

Coffee and caffeine is bad when you want to lose weight

• a) TRUE
• b) FALSE

Answer: False. Although some people try to wean themselves off coffee and/or caffeine when they go on a diet, research shows that combining a program of diet and exercise with sports nutrition products containing caffeine (i.e. Thermobol) accelerates weight loss compared to diet and exercise alone. Athletes also like to use caffeine before exercise as a way to improve their performance. In one study, subjects were able to run for longer when they took caffeine 60 minutes before a workout. Although most people don't see coffee as a "health" drink, it's actually a rich source of antioxidants. In fact, studies show that coffee has significantly more total antioxidant activity than cocoa, herbal tea, black tea and even green tea.