Are you Santa’s health superstar or a total turkey? (Image: Getty)
Ho, ho, how good is your festive health knowledge? Try our quiz to find if your star shines bright, or you’re still holding the wooden spoon from Stir-Up Sunday
*Oh, and look out for elvish tricks, multiple correct answers and even deductions for bloopers!
1 True or false? Being hit in the eye with a champagne cork can cause blindness.
2 True or false? Making sure champagne is well chilled not only makes it taste better, but it will also reduce your risk of flying cork injuries.
3 Which of these decorative Christmas plants and berries should you keep well away from children and pets?
A. Holly B. Ivy C. Poinsettia D. Mistletoe
4 And which of them is likely to cause a reaction in people with an allergy to latex?
A. Holly B. Ivy C. Poinsettia D. Mistletoe
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5 True or false? Vintage Christmas decorations may be pretty, but they can also be harmful to your health.
6 High heels may be the perfect accessory for a glittery festive frock, but they can be a painful fashion choice because they increase the weight being carried by the ball of the foot. But by how much?
A. 32% B. 48% C. 55% D. 67%
7 If you’re starting your celebrations with buck’s fizz on Christmas morning, which orange juice will provide the most antioxidant
vitamin C?
A. Pasteurised or from concentrate juice B. Freshly squeezed C. There’s no difference
8 There are plenty of good reasons to tuck into Christmas pudding as this traditional dessert is bursting with nutrients including energy-boosting iron found in dried fruit, cholesterol-lowering nuts and antioxidant spices. But do Britons love it or hate it?
A. Most UK adults like it a lot B. Most don’t like it at all
9 Completing a jigsaw is a Christmas tradition for many families, and studies show that puzzles improve cognition. How many jigsaw puzzle pieces do you have to put together for a ‘clinically relevant’ cognitive gain?
A. 5,000 to 7,000 B. 7,001 to 9,000 C. 9,001 to 10,000 D. More than 10,000
10 True or False? The 1987 Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal warned of a link between child obesity and bright clothes.
11 Hiding silver coins in the Christmas pudding is:
A. A fabulous festive tradition B. A serious health hazard
12 Christmas is a time for giving and many health charities are appealing for donations. What percentage of people say they are more likely to donate money at this time of year?
A. 42% B. 56% C. 62% D. 78%
13
YouGov polling shows that health charities make up the top five most popular charities in the UK. Can you rank them from most popular to fifth most popular?
A. Alzheimer’s Research UK B. British Heart Foundation C. Cancer Research UK D. Great Ormond Street Hospital E. St John’s Ambulance
14 They say it’s better to give than receive, but which of these health benefits are associated with gift-giving and generosity?
A. Lower blood pressure B. Reduced dementia risk C. Increased happiness D. All of the above E. None of the above
15 Christmas is clearly very exciting for a lot of men, because researchers have discovered a rise in the number suffering penile fractures — a painful medical emergency caused by the penis being bent during over-enthusiastic sex. How big is the rise between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day?
A. 13% B. 23% C. 33% D. 43% 16 It’s best to avoid using bitter almonds if you’re making marzipan.
A. True B. False C. Use sweet or bitter almonds and add extra sugar, it makes no difference
17 Cinnamon adds spice to many sweet and savoury Christmas dishes, and the ‘cinnamon challenge’ — eating a spoonful in under 60 seconds without drinking anything — often circulates on social media at this time of year. Is it:
A. Harmless fun
B. A seriously silly idea
18 It’s estimated that we consume 6,000 calories on Christmas Day. How many steps would you need to take to burn that off?
A. 50,000 B. 100,000 C. 150,000 D. 200,000
19 The final Gavin and Stacey Christmas special will air on Christmas Day. Which of these health benefits could flow from watching it?
A. It reduces stress B. Helps weight loss C. Improves blood sugar control D. Improves asthma symptoms
20 True or false? The Christmas spirit can be detected by brain scans.
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ANSWERS
1 True: 1pt. Ophthalmologists at Cambridge University who highlighted the danger in a BMJ article warn that a cork can travel at 50mph and being hit in the eye can cause blindness, retinal detachment and dislocation of the lens.
2 True: 1pt, chilling reduces pressure in the bottle, and cork velocity.
3 Score a point each for A, B and D. Holly berries, but not the leaves, are poisonous; all parts of mistletoe except the berries are toxic and all parts of ivy are toxic. Poinsettia has a reputation for being poisonous, but this stems from one unconfirmed death in 1919.
4 C: 1pt. Poinsettia comes from the same plant family as natural rubber latex and 40 per cent of people with latex allergy also react to poinsettia.
5 True: 1pt. Up until the mid-1900s asbestos was commonly used to mimic snow on Christmas decorations or reduce the fire risk associated with lights and other decorations.
6 B: 1pt. Dutch orthopaedic researchers who tested 10 women wearing heels and flats found that heels increased the pressure time integral, which calculates the cumulative load on the foot, by 48%.
7 B: 1pt. Analysis by Spanish researchers found that, compared to freshly squeezed juices, commercially produced juice lost between 30 and 40% of its vitamin C. However the commercially produced juices had higher levels of the cholesterol-lowering antioxidant naringenin.
8 B: 1pt. Polling by YouGov shows we’ve fallen out of love with Christmas pud, with only 20% of adults liking it a lot, compared to 31% who say they don’t like it at all.
9 Score a point for C or D — German researchers compared 100 over-50s who worked on jigsaws for 30 days with a control group, and calculated that you need to connect 9,108 pieces to improve visual-spatial cognition.
10 True: 1pt. Medical journalist Caroline Richmond concocted the new theory in a spoof article to test public susceptibility to fake news — long before the term was coined. Readers and an allergy charity fell for her fiction, even though it referenced the Dye Related Allergies Bureau (DRAB), a subsidiary of the Food Additives Research Team (FART).
11 B: 1pt. Dental researchers who served up 40 puddings, each with a concealed 50p, 20p, 10p or 5p coin found 23 (58%) caused dental trauma, four were swallowed and one caused a student to choke and require the Heimlich manoeuvre to dislodge the coin.
12 A: 1pt. According to a report published last year, 42% of Britons are more like to donate money at Christmas.
13 E, B, C, D and A: 89% of those polled had a positive opinion of St John Ambulance, followed by the BHF (86%), CRUK (84%) GOSH (83%) and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Score 1pt for each answer in the correct position.
14 Score 3 points if you said D, and a point each for A,B and C. Studies confirm that giving reduces blood pressure and dementia risk and increased levels of serotonin make us feel happier. Lose 3 points if you answered E!
15 D: 1pt. German researchers found that penile fractures requiring a hospital stay go up by 43% from December 24 to 26.
16 A: 1pt. Bitter almonds contain cyanide. Concentrations vary, but around 50 bitter almonds would contain a lethal dose. Sweet almonds have only a trace.
17 B: 1pt. Cinnamon is a lung irritant and the challenge has led to hospitalisations due to respiratory distress Even relatively small amounts can also cause gastric pain, seizures and hallucinations.
18 C: 1pt. On average we burn 40 calories per 1,000 steps, so it would take 150,000 steps, around 75 miles.
19 Score a point each for A, B and C — studies confirm a good giggle lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol; helps people with metabolic syndrome lose weight and reduces spikes in blood sugar. But deduct a point for D, laughter can actually trigger an asthma attack.
20 True: 1pt. Using fMRI imaging, Danish researchers showed that in people with a tradition of celebrating Christmas, festive images light up areas of the brain associated with spirituality and shared emotions.
How did you score?
20 points or more: You are Santa’s health superstar!
10-19 points: Your health and wellbeing Noel-edge is bright
0-9 points: Oops, you’re more of a turkey than a cracker…