NTP Human Nutrition Fundamentals 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which fatty acid is considered the parent omega-6 fatty acid that the body cannot synthesize?
- Arachidonic acid
- Linoleic acid (Correct answer)
- Gamma-linolenic acid
- Eicosadienoic acid
Correct answer: Linoleic acid
Linoleic acid (LA) is the essential parent omega-6 fatty acid that humans must obtain from diet because we lack the delta-12 desaturase enzyme.
Question 2: The glycemic index of a food measures which of the following?
- Total carbohydrate content per serving
- Rate at which blood glucose rises compared to pure glucose (Correct answer)
- Insulin secretion triggered by 100g of the food
- Fiber-to-sugar ratio of the food
Correct answer: Rate at which blood glucose rises compared to pure glucose
Glycemic index ranks how quickly a food raises blood glucose relative to pure glucose (GI=100) using a 50g carbohydrate portion.
Question 3: Which mineral is a structural component of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase?
- Zinc
- Copper
- Selenium (Correct answer)
- Manganese
Correct answer: Selenium
Selenium is the essential cofactor incorporated into glutathione peroxidase as selenocysteine, enabling the enzyme to neutralize hydrogen peroxide.
Question 4: What term describes the process by which bile salts emulsify dietary fats in the small intestine?
- Saponification
- Beta-oxidation
- Micelle formation (Correct answer)
- Ketogenesis
Correct answer: Micelle formation
Bile salts surround fat droplets to form micelles, dramatically increasing the surface area available for pancreatic lipase digestion.
Question 5: Which B vitamin serves as the primary methyl donor in one-carbon metabolism via its active form methyltetrahydrofolate?
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Niacin (B3)
- Folate (B9) (Correct answer)
- Cobalamin (B12)
Correct answer: Folate (B9)
5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), the active form of folate, donates its methyl group to homocysteine to regenerate methionine in the methylation cycle.
Question 6: Proteolytic digestion of proteins begins in which part of the GI tract?
- Mouth
- Stomach (Correct answer)
- Duodenum
- Jejunum
Correct answer: Stomach
Pepsinogen is secreted by chief cells and activated to pepsin by gastric acid, initiating protein hydrolysis in the stomach.
Question 7: The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) category that represents the average daily intake sufficient to meet the needs of 50% of healthy individuals is called the:
- Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)
- Adequate Intake (AI)
- Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) (Correct answer)
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
Correct answer: Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
The EAR is the median intake meeting the requirement of half the healthy population, and the RDA is derived from it (EAR + 2 SD).
NTP Human Nutrition Fundamentals 2
Which fatty acid is considered the parent omega-6 fatty acid that the body cannot synthesize?