Nutrition Quiz
Vitamins, minerals, calories and the diseases a bad diet causes: 15 questions on what food really does.
Which vitamin does your skin make when it is exposed to sunlight?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vitamin D
Ultraviolet B rays convert a cholesterol compound in the skin into vitamin D, which the body needs to absorb calcium from food and keep bones and teeth strong.
In many northern countries the winter sun is too weak for skin to make vitamin D, which is why the NHS recommends a daily supplement from October to March.
Which disease, once common among sailors, is caused by a lack of vitamin C?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Scurvy
Scurvy causes bleeding gums, loose teeth and reopened wounds because the body cannot make collagen without vitamin C, and it killed huge numbers of sailors on long voyages.
In 1747 naval surgeon James Lind ran one of the first clinical trials and found citrus fruit cured scurvy, which later earned British sailors the nickname limeys.
What does BMI stand for in health screening?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Body Mass Index
Body mass index divides a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres, giving a rough screening number used to classify underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity.
The formula was devised in the 1830s by Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, long before it was used in medicine.
Proteins are built from long chains of which smaller molecules?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Amino acids
Proteins are chains of amino acids folded into complex shapes, and the human body uses 20 different amino acids to build muscle, enzymes, hormones and antibodies.
Nine of the 20 amino acids are called essential because the body cannot make them and must get them from food.
Which mineral is needed to make haemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in red blood cells?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Iron
Each haemoglobin molecule contains four iron atoms that bind oxygen in the lungs and release it in the tissues, so too little iron leads to iron deficiency anaemia.
The WHO considers iron deficiency the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, affecting young children and pregnant women most.
Which mineral makes up most of the hard structure of bones and teeth?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Calcium
About 99 percent of the body's calcium is stored in bones and teeth as calcium phosphate crystals, which give the skeleton its strength and rigidity.
Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and rebuilt, so adults need around 700 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day.
Which of these provides the most energy per gram?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Fat
Fat supplies about 9 kilocalories per gram, compared with roughly 7 for alcohol and 4 each for protein and carbohydrate, which is why fatty foods are so energy dense.
These energy values come from the Atwater system, worked out by American chemist Wilbur Atwater in the late 1800s by burning foods in a calorimeter.
Which sugar occurs naturally in milk?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lactose
Lactose is the sugar found in milk and other dairy products, and it is a disaccharide made of one glucose and one galactose molecule joined together.
Human breast milk contains about 7 percent lactose, higher than cow's milk at around 5 percent.
Which vitamin does the body need for normal blood clotting?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is needed to make several clotting factors in the liver, and the K comes from Koagulation, the German spelling used by the Danish scientist who discovered it.
Newborn babies are routinely given a vitamin K injection because they are born with very low stores and cannot yet make it in their gut.
Which B vitamin are women advised to take before and during early pregnancy to help prevent spina bifida?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Folic acid
Folic acid, the synthetic form of vitamin B9, greatly reduces the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida, and health agencies recommend 400 micrograms daily before conception.
Since 1998 the United States has required folic acid to be added to enriched flour and bread, and many countries have followed.
People following a strict vegan diet are advised to supplement which vitamin, found naturally almost only in animal foods?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is made by bacteria and accumulates in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, so vegans rely on fortified foods or supplements to avoid anaemia and nerve damage.
The liver can store several years' worth of B12, so a deficiency may take a long time to show after someone changes their diet.
Which element is added to table salt in many countries to prevent goitre?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Iodine
The thyroid needs iodine to make its hormones, and without it the gland swells into a goitre, so Switzerland in 1922 and the US state of Michigan in 1924 pioneered iodised salt.
The WHO calls iodine deficiency the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities in the world.
A deficiency of which vitamin is the main cause of night blindness?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vitamin A
The retina needs vitamin A to make rhodopsin, the pigment that detects dim light, so a shortage first shows as difficulty seeing at night and can progress to permanent blindness.
Golden Rice was genetically engineered to produce beta carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, to tackle deficiency in rice eating countries.
Lactose intolerance is caused by a shortage of which digestive enzyme?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lactase
Lactase, made in the lining of the small intestine, splits milk sugar into glucose and galactose, and without enough of it undigested lactose ferments in the gut, causing bloating and diarrhoea.
Around 65 percent of the world's adults have reduced lactase activity, while most people of northern European descent keep producing it for life.
Beriberi, once widespread in Asia among people eating polished white rice, is caused by a lack of which vitamin?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vitamin B1
Beriberi is a severe deficiency of thiamine, vitamin B1, which is removed when rice is milled to remove the bran, and it damages the nerves and the heart.
Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman found in the 1890s that chickens fed polished rice developed the disease, work that earned him a Nobel Prize in 1929.
Your results
More to explore
All Science quizzes →About the Nutrition Quiz
Sailors once lost their teeth to scurvy before anyone knew what a vitamin was, a gram of fat carries more than twice the energy of a gram of protein, and a pinch of iodine in table salt has prevented millions of cases of goitre. Nutrition science is full of facts that quietly shape what ends up on your plate.
These 15 questions cover the vitamins and minerals your body needs, the three macronutrients, the sugars hiding in milk, and the classic deficiency diseases from rickets to beriberi. Every answer reflects mainstream guidance from bodies like the WHO and NHS, so there are no fad diet traps. Ideal for students, home cooks and anyone who reads the nutrition label before buying.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
How hard is the Nutrition Quiz?
It is rated Medium. It starts with basics like the sunshine vitamin and BMI, then moves on to specific deficiency diseases, enzymes and the B vitamins.
Are the answers based on current health guidance?
Yes. Every question sticks to settled facts found in standard textbooks and guidance from the WHO, CDC and NHS, and avoids contested diet claims.
What will I learn from this quiz?
Which foods and nutrients prevent scurvy, rickets, anaemia and goitre, how many calories each macronutrient provides, and why some adults cannot digest milk.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which vitamin does your skin make when it is exposed to sunlight?
Vitamin D Ultraviolet B rays convert a cholesterol compound in the skin into vitamin D, which the body needs to absorb calcium from food and keep bones and teeth strong. In many northern countries the winter sun is too weak for skin to make vitamin D, which is why the NHS recommends a daily supplement from October to March. - Which disease, once common among sailors, is caused by a lack of vitamin C?
Scurvy Scurvy causes bleeding gums, loose teeth and reopened wounds because the body cannot make collagen without vitamin C, and it killed huge numbers of sailors on long voyages. In 1747 naval surgeon James Lind ran one of the first clinical trials and found citrus fruit cured scurvy, which later earned British sailors the nickname limeys. - What does BMI stand for in health screening?
Body Mass Index Body mass index divides a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres, giving a rough screening number used to classify underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity. The formula was devised in the 1830s by Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, long before it was used in medicine. - Proteins are built from long chains of which smaller molecules?
Amino acids Proteins are chains of amino acids folded into complex shapes, and the human body uses 20 different amino acids to build muscle, enzymes, hormones and antibodies. Nine of the 20 amino acids are called essential because the body cannot make them and must get them from food. - Which mineral is needed to make haemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in red blood cells?
Iron Each haemoglobin molecule contains four iron atoms that bind oxygen in the lungs and release it in the tissues, so too little iron leads to iron deficiency anaemia. The WHO considers iron deficiency the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, affecting young children and pregnant women most. - Which mineral makes up most of the hard structure of bones and teeth?
Calcium About 99 percent of the body's calcium is stored in bones and teeth as calcium phosphate crystals, which give the skeleton its strength and rigidity. Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and rebuilt, so adults need around 700 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. - Which of these provides the most energy per gram?
Fat Fat supplies about 9 kilocalories per gram, compared with roughly 7 for alcohol and 4 each for protein and carbohydrate, which is why fatty foods are so energy dense. These energy values come from the Atwater system, worked out by American chemist Wilbur Atwater in the late 1800s by burning foods in a calorimeter. - Which sugar occurs naturally in milk?
Lactose Lactose is the sugar found in milk and other dairy products, and it is a disaccharide made of one glucose and one galactose molecule joined together. Human breast milk contains about 7 percent lactose, higher than cow's milk at around 5 percent. - Which vitamin does the body need for normal blood clotting?
Vitamin K Vitamin K is needed to make several clotting factors in the liver, and the K comes from Koagulation, the German spelling used by the Danish scientist who discovered it. Newborn babies are routinely given a vitamin K injection because they are born with very low stores and cannot yet make it in their gut. - Which B vitamin are women advised to take before and during early pregnancy to help prevent spina bifida?
Folic acid Folic acid, the synthetic form of vitamin B9, greatly reduces the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida, and health agencies recommend 400 micrograms daily before conception. Since 1998 the United States has required folic acid to be added to enriched flour and bread, and many countries have followed. - People following a strict vegan diet are advised to supplement which vitamin, found naturally almost only in animal foods?
Vitamin B12 Vitamin B12 is made by bacteria and accumulates in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, so vegans rely on fortified foods or supplements to avoid anaemia and nerve damage. The liver can store several years' worth of B12, so a deficiency may take a long time to show after someone changes their diet. - Which element is added to table salt in many countries to prevent goitre?
Iodine The thyroid needs iodine to make its hormones, and without it the gland swells into a goitre, so Switzerland in 1922 and the US state of Michigan in 1924 pioneered iodised salt. The WHO calls iodine deficiency the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities in the world. - A deficiency of which vitamin is the main cause of night blindness?
Vitamin A The retina needs vitamin A to make rhodopsin, the pigment that detects dim light, so a shortage first shows as difficulty seeing at night and can progress to permanent blindness. Golden Rice was genetically engineered to produce beta carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, to tackle deficiency in rice eating countries. - Lactose intolerance is caused by a shortage of which digestive enzyme?
Lactase Lactase, made in the lining of the small intestine, splits milk sugar into glucose and galactose, and without enough of it undigested lactose ferments in the gut, causing bloating and diarrhoea. Around 65 percent of the world's adults have reduced lactase activity, while most people of northern European descent keep producing it for life. - Beriberi, once widespread in Asia among people eating polished white rice, is caused by a lack of which vitamin?
Vitamin B1 Beriberi is a severe deficiency of thiamine, vitamin B1, which is removed when rice is milled to remove the bran, and it damages the nerves and the heart. Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman found in the 1890s that chickens fed polished rice developed the disease, work that earned him a Nobel Prize in 1929.
Browse other categories
Every category has its own quizzes, each with instant explanations.