Diets - For Better or Worse Trivia Quiz

Answer: Grapefruit

The Grapefruit diet has been around in one form or another since the 1930s. It works off the claim that grapefruit has its own 'fat busting enzyme' that aids weight loss. Grapefruits are often seen as a dieter's friend, as they are low calorie and not very sweet tasting so they appear quite virtuous.

As part of a balanced diet they contain plenty of vitamin C and fibre, but eaten on their own do not provide protein or fat. You may lose weight because of calorie deficit Grapefruit should also be avoided with certain medications where there is a proven enzyme reaction.

Answer: Cabbage

The 'Cabbage Soup Diet' is another very old diet suggestion. Aficionados get to eat cabbage soup three times a day for a short period of time. With some variations cropping up occasionally, the very low calorie nature of the soup will result in weight loss, but at a price: bloating and gassy emissions don't make you a popular person to be around.

Answer: No more than 100 calories

Fourteen jars of baby food followed by a small adult evening meal is the daily recommendation of this particular diet. The baby food jars are portion controlled, and small portions at that. They can be quite bland as they are generally under-seasoned for an immature palate.

They are also designed for the energy and nutritional needs of well.. babies! Consequently they can be low in protein and fat for adults. The possibility of choosing all the baby 'desserts' rather than the 'dinner' varieties will also impact nutritional benefits.

Answer: Intermittent fasting

Introduced by Dr. Michael Mosely in 2012 with a documentary called Eat, Fast and Live Longer, and in 2013 in his book 'The Fast Diet' with Mimi Spencer, the 5:2 diet calls for you to eat a 'normal' diet 5 days of the week, and to restrict calorie intake to below 500 on 2 days of the week.

This method reduces calorie intake over a 7 day period leading to weight loss, but also suggests other benefits, allowing the body to rest and 'take stock' over the 2 fast days leading to improved health. In subsequent editions, the fasting intervals have also included an 16-8 period, where fasting occurs for 16 hours during the day and food is eaten within an 8 hour window.

Their research has also indicated an increase to 800 calories on fast days has similar weight loss ability, and combined with a 'Mediterranean' diet, as opposed to 'your normal' food intake, to be the most favourable combination if following this diet.

Answer: The Paleo diet

The author of this diet, Dr Loren Cordain, starts by arguing that humans have not evolved sufficiently to be able to process modern food stuffs. he cites 5000 years of static farming and increased carbohydrate intake versus millennia of nomadic hunter-gatherer type foods and how the human body processes them.

The Paleo, or caveman, diet seeks to restrict foods to close approximations of how our ancestors would have eaten. seasonal, good quality, low processed foods including lean meat, fish, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Grains, dairy, sugar and alcohol are not encouraged. The Sleeping beauty diet entailed sedation, so you slept long periods, rather than ate, thus reducing your calorie intake.

The werewolf diet is also known as the lunar or moon diet, and what you eat is dictated by the phases of the moon.

Answer: Blood group

With his bestselling book, D'Adamo proposed that each blood group had genetic traits that were better disposed to handle different food types. Blood group A should aim towards a vegetarian regime, avoiding red meats that were considered to be 'toxic'. Blood group O moved towards the other end of the scale, requiring a diet rich in protein, and avoiding grains . Type B were advised to avoid chicken, pork, lentils and tomatoes , but could eat other meats and seafood. Type AB were more of a mix of A and B and could happily include tofu, dairy and grains, but were discouraged from beef, kidney beans and corn. Diets with major exclusions can be difficult to follow and care should be taken to ensure a proper mix of nutrients are included.

Answer: Nordic diet

Also referred to as the Scandi(navian) diet this a promotion of foodstuffs generally associated with Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Rye bread eaten with oily fish, otherwise highly plant based with cabbage and root vegetables being encouraged. berries that grow well in northern climates such as lingonberries feature too.

This diet was put forward in conjunction with Copenhagen based restaurant NOMA.

Answer: Alkaline diet

This diet postulates that you need to consider eating foods to achieve balance in the pH of your body. By eating alkaline foods, you help your body become less acidic and therefore less harmful, alkaline food being considered to be better. Foods that should be eaten include : nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetable, avoiding red meat poultry, fish, legumes and dairy. bizarrely citrus fruits, that are quite acidic, are on the approved list of foods.

Answer: Raw food

The raw food diet is followed by people who feel that food is most likely to retain nutrients if consumed without being cooked. People following a ketogenic diet, are most likely to enjoy those eggs and steak, however they are prepared. Although a macrobiotic diet is one that contains a high level of pulses, no one should eat uncooked kidney beans- they contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin that is removed by vigorous boiling. Raw prawns are not pink, they are generally grey. Milk undergoes pasturisation before being sold to reduce the risk of Listeria, it's quite hard to track down raw milk for this reason. People practicing breatharianism. purport to live on air alone, so don't eat anything at all.

Answer: Olive

The Mediterranean diet encourages the use of olive oil to cook and prepare high variety, seasonal, locally grown or produced meat, fruit and vegetables with very little ultra-processed foods being consumed. Countries such as Greece and Italy showcase this kind of diet. Olive oil is produced by pressing olives for their oil, the best flavoured, with higher levels of minerals and nutrients, being 'cold pressed extra virgin' . Once this has been extracted the remaining olive pulp is then used to produce a poorer quality oil, usually by mechanical extraction and heat. Dates, figs and oranges don't produce oils when pressed, but would be more likely eaten whole as part of this diet.