CCS Nutrition & Health 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to US dietary guidelines, which macronutrient should provide the largest percentage of total daily calories?
- Fat
- Protein
- Carbohydrates (Correct answer)
- Alcohol
Correct answer: Carbohydrates
The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates provide 45–65% of total daily caloric intake, making them the primary energy source.
Question 2: Which cooking method best preserves water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins?
- Boiling in large volumes of water
- Steaming (Correct answer)
- Deep frying
- Pressure boiling
Correct answer: Steaming
Steaming minimizes vitamin leaching into cooking water and uses lower contact time, better preserving water-soluble vitamins compared to boiling.
Question 3: Phytosterols are recognized as functional food ingredients primarily because they help lower which health risk marker?
- Blood pressure
- LDL cholesterol (Correct answer)
- Blood glucose
- Triglycerides
Correct answer: LDL cholesterol
Phytosterols compete with dietary cholesterol for intestinal absorption, effectively lowering LDL cholesterol levels by 5–15%.
Question 4: Which statement best describes the glycemic index (GI) of a food?
- The total amount of carbohydrate per serving
- The rate at which a food raises blood glucose relative to a reference food (Correct answer)
- The insulin response per gram of protein
- The fiber content relative to total carbohydrate
Correct answer: The rate at which a food raises blood glucose relative to a reference food
GI measures how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose levels compared to a reference food (glucose or white bread = 100).
Question 5: In the context of protein nutrition, what does 'biological value' (BV) measure?
- The total protein content per 100 g of food
- The proportion of absorbed protein nitrogen retained for body protein synthesis (Correct answer)
- The digestibility of a protein in the small intestine
- The number of essential amino acids in a protein
Correct answer: The proportion of absorbed protein nitrogen retained for body protein synthesis
Biological value (BV) reflects the efficiency with which absorbed protein is utilized for body protein synthesis, with eggs traditionally assigned a BV of 100.
Question 6: Fortification of milk with vitamin D primarily addresses which public health concern?
- Iron-deficiency anemia
- Scurvy
- Rickets and osteoporosis prevention (Correct answer)
- Pellagra
Correct answer: Rickets and osteoporosis prevention
Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and bone mineralization; its addition to milk has been a key strategy in preventing rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.
Question 7: A culinary scientist is developing a product for individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU). Which amino acid must be strictly limited in that formulation?
- Leucine
- Phenylalanine (Correct answer)
- Tryptophan
- Methionine
Correct answer: Phenylalanine
PKU is caused by deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase, leading to toxic phenylalanine accumulation; affected individuals must restrict dietary phenylalanine intake.
CCS Nutrition & Health 3
According to US dietary guidelines, which macronutrient should provide the largest percentage of total daily calories?