Here is a quick, fun quiz to see if you know your vitamin and mineral sources. You may be surprised by the answersJ
1. Which has more vitamin C?
a. 1 cup (C) orange juice
b. 1 C strawberry halves
2. Which has more potassium?
a. 1 medium-sized banana
b. 1 medium-sized white potato (baked)
3. Which has more vitamin A?
a. ½ C carrot strips or slices
b. 1 C raw spinach
4. Which has more iron?
a. 3 ounces (oz) cooked 90% lean ground beef
b. 1 C cooked black beans
5. Which has more vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)?
a. 4 oz chicken breast (broiler or fryer)
b. ½ C raw green peas
6. Which has more vitamin E?
a. ½ C shelled English walnuts
b. Two large egg yolks
7. Which has more calcium?
a. 3 oz canned salmon with bones (drained)
b. ½ C 2% milk
8. Which has more magnesium?
a. ¼ C dried sesame seeds (whole)
b. 1 C shredded romaine lettuce
Answers
1. b. The strawberries win, but just barely at 89.4 milligrams (mg) vitamin C, while the orange juice contains 81.9 mg.
2. b. The baked potato wins by quite a bit. It contains 926 mg, while a banana contains 422 mg.
3. a. The carrots contain 10,190 international units (IU) of vitamin A, compared to 2813 IU for spinach.
4. b. The black beans provide 3.6 mg of iron, while the ground beef provides 2.4 mg.
5. a. The chicken contains four times as much vitamin B6 as the peas do—0.4 mg vs 0.1 mg.
6. b. The egg yolks contain twice as much vitamin E as the shelled walnuts—0.8 mg vs 0.4 mg.
7. a. The salmon contains 212 mg calcium, and the milk contains 143 mg (yes, you eat the tiny bones).
8. a. The ¼ C of sesame seeds provides 126 mg of magnesium, while the romaine lettuce provides only 6.6 mg.
Estelle L. Benoit, RD, LDN
Source: nutrition data and rd411