By SAM MCMANIS, Sacramento Bee

How closely have you been following the latest research on nutrition? Here's a true/false quiz to test yourself.QUESTIONS1. Vitamin B12 appears to protect people's brains as they age.2. High-fructose corn syrup is the worst sweetener you can consume.3. Soluble fiber lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke.

People who make a habit of running to work offered these tips on how to navigate the commute. - If you don't have shower and locker facilities at work, there might be a nearby health club where you can shower and change - providing you are a member. If not, there's always this stopgap: the company's restroom sink.

Like so many groggy morning commuters, Debra Moss likes to begin her day at a Starbucks. Got to get that energy boost for the slog into work, after all.On this early morning, with dawn slowly breaking, the 51-year-old who lives in Sacramento, Calif., decided she needed something stronger than Starbucks iced tea. So she ducked into the Safeway next door and downed a Red Bull.

Times are tough. We don't need Ben Bernanke to tell us that. So we're all looking for bargains, even when it extends to fitness classes.Health clubs, of course, offer an array of options. But for the really cost-conscious, it might help to think outside the gym for a fitness class fix, be it yoga, ping-pong or lap swimming.

One way to make recreational athletes feel old is to ask them how, back in the day, they used to figure out the mileage they ran, biked or hiked.If they mention pedometers or GPS devices, you know they are young 'uns.

The sixth season of NBC's dieting reality show, "The Biggest Loser," started last Tuesday, and Beth Bushnell Danielson of Elk Grove, Calif. was so there in front of the tube.A self-described fan of the show and weight-loss champion in her own right, Bushnell Danielson has drawn inspiration from "The Biggest Loser."

Long before Valerie Bertinelli, before Kirstie Alley, even before Jared the Subway-sandwich guy, there was Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

In this mass-media age, the health and fitness of presidential candidates often is equated with their fitness to lead.

Twenty-something friends Kris Rosa and Carmen Berry were lunching in midtown Sacramento, Calif., on a blazing hot workday when, naturally, the subject of shoes popped up."Why do you wear those?" Berry asked.

We asked Davis, Calif., podiatrist Tracy Basso to break down the two types of feet most susceptible to shoe problems and how to address them.FLAT FEETWhat it is: The arch of the instep is flattened and the entire sole touches the ground.Possible problems: Pronation (rolling in of foot), weak ankles, bunions, hammertoes, neuroma, plantar fasciitis.