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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 04 Jul 2024, 22:38
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GMATNinja

Quote:
Hey abhimahna / GMATNinja
can you explain the reason to eliminate option D?

if both good and bad cholesterol go down because of plant-based of diets, then eating food such as chicken or fish would be beneficial to counter the effect of plant-based diet on good cholesterol

Hence I marked D. can you let me know your thoughts here?
Quote:
Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant-based diet and has successfully maintained her blood level of LDL, ''bad'' cholesterol at well within the range considered optimal for heart health. But She is worried that her blood of HDL, ''good'' cholesterol, is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health, and has thus considered consuming foods such as chicken or fish that would increase her blood level of this beneficial substance.
Nandipa has considered consuming foods that increase HDL blood level (such as chicken or fish) to maintain her heart health. Here's why she is considering this change:

  • She wishes to maintain heart health.
  • Her LDL level is in the range considered optimal for heart health.
  • Her HDL level is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health.
  • Foods such as chicken or fish would increase her HDL blood level. (Mmm... fish.)
  • Therefore, consuming foods such as chicken or fish will help Nandipa maintain heart health.

One thing that jumps out immediately from this breakdown is that there's no connection between LDL and HDL. We know that for optimal heart health, one should meet the optimal range for each type of cholesterol. But as far as we can tell, each type impacts heart health independently. This means that if we're analyzing the impact of consuming HDL via food, we shouldn't take into account the role of LDL unless we're given new information that explicitly links the two in their effect on heart health.

Quote:
Which of the following, if true , should be most significant for Nandipa in determining whether to add such foods to her diet?
We're looking for anything that could strengthen or weaken the conclusion that consuming foods that increase HDL blood level will help Nandipa maintain her heart health. Let's begin eliminating choices:

Quote:
A. HDL can help to protect against the accumulation of plagues (fatty deposits) in the arteries
This choice elaborates on what HDL literally does in the blood stream, but we already know that HDL is "good." Because (A) doesn't have any impact on Nandipa's conclusion (consume foods that contain HDL), we can eliminate it.

Quote:
B. The benefit of HDL is stricly due to its effect on LDL levels
If true, this weakens the conclusion. Whereas the only thing we knew before is that more HDL is good for heart health, this choice tells us that the benefit of HDL is limited to its effect on LDL levels. Nandipa's LDL levels are already in the optimal range, so consuming foods with HDL will deliver no additional benefit to her heart health. Let's keep (B) around unless we see something more game-changing.

Quote:
C. The body produces all of the LDL it needs; so it is unnecessary to consume food containing this form of cholesterol
The conclusion has nothing to do with consumption of food containing LDL, and this choice doesn't provide information that links LDL to HDL. Eliminate (C).

Quote:
D. Plant-based diets reduce the sum of both ''good'' and ''bad'' cholesterol
We already know that Nandipa has a plant-based diet. This new information about what her diet does to the sum of LDL and HDL is irrelevant, because we're are analyzing whether Nandipa should modify that diet by consuming foods that contain HDL (such as chicken or fish). (D) doesn't impact the conclusion we care about, so we'll eliminate it.

Quote:
E. There are other foods besides chicken or fish that can increase the level of good cholesterol
Like answer choice (A), this choice underscores something we already know. Who cares how many foods have HDL? We want to know whether Nandipa should make the decision to begin eating these foods; it doesn't matter whether they're chicken, fish, eggs, steak, dosas, pie, bhindi masala, carne asada burritos, vanilla pudding, lamb tagine, Bavarian pretzels, or anything else that might increase HDL levels. Because this choice doesn't provide any information to strengthen or weaken Nandipa's choice to add foods containing HDL to her diet, we can eliminate it as well.

Unrelated: that last paragraph made me hungry. :-o

Anyway, (B) is the best answer. It's the only one that directly addresses Nandipa's decision and provides new information to help us assess that decision.
Show more
­

Hey , so i had a query about last one (E) . If there are other foods that increase the level of good cholestrol , which can weaken.
But , what if there are no other foods besides chicken or wish ? then only foods good for HDL will be Chicken or fish . The main point of the argument is to increase the good cholestrol or HDL to a good level . So then, why cant E be a correct choice ? it does answer Yes or No and seriously weakens or strengthens
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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 30 Jul 2024, 10:03
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rmahe11
Hey , so i had a query about last one (E) . If there are other foods that increase the level of good cholestrol , which can weaken.

But , what if there are no other foods besides chicken or wish ? then only foods good for HDL will be Chicken or fish . The main point of the argument is to increase the good cholestrol or HDL to a good level . So then, why cant E be a correct choice ? it does answer Yes or No and seriously weakens or strengthens
Show more
­The passage says that Nandipa is considering consuming foods such as chicken or fish that would increase her HDL. This already implies that there might be other options.

If Nandipa decides to start eating, say, duck to increase her HDL, then that still qualifies as adding "such foods" to her diet. So the presence or absence of other options doesn't really matter, and we can eliminate (E).

I hope that helps!
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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 31 Jul 2024, 01:41
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GMATNinja
Quote:
Hey abhimahna / GMATNinja
can you explain the reason to eliminate option D?

if both good and bad cholesterol go down because of plant-based of diets, then eating food such as chicken or fish would be beneficial to counter the effect of plant-based
diet on good cholesterol

Hence I marked D. can you let me know your thoughts here?

Quote:
Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant-based diet and has successfully maintained her blood level of LDL, ''bad'' cholesterol at well within the range considered optimal for heart health. But She is worried that her blood of HDL, ''good'' cholesterol, is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health, and has thus considered consuming foods such as chicken or fish that would increase her blood level of this beneficial substance.
Nandipa has considered consuming foods that increase HDL blood level (such as chicken or fish) to maintain her heart health. Here's why she is considering this change:
  • She wishes to maintain heart health.
  • Her LDL level is in the range considered optimal for heart health.
  • Her HDL level is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health.
  • Foods such as chicken or fish would increase her HDL blood level. (Mmm... fish.)
  • Therefore, consuming foods such as chicken or fish will help Nandipa maintain heart health.

One thing that jumps out immediately from this breakdown is that there's no connection between LDL and HDL. We know that for optimal heart health, one should meet the optimal range for each type of cholesterol. But as far as we can tell, each type impacts heart health independently. This means that if we're analyzing the impact of consuming HDL via food, we shouldn't take into account the role of LDL unless we're given new information that explicitly links the two in their effect on heart health.

Quote:
Which of the following, if true , should be most significant for Nandipa in determining whether to add such foods to her diet?
We're looking for anything that could strengthen or weaken the conclusion that consuming foods that increase HDL blood level will help Nandipa maintain her heart health. Let's begin eliminating choices:

Quote:
A. HDL can help to protect against the accumulation of plagues (fatty deposits) in the arteries
This choice elaborates on what HDL literally does in the blood stream, but we already know that HDL is "good." Because (A) doesn't have any impact on Nandipa's conclusion (consume foods that contain HDL), we can eliminate it.

Quote:
B. The benefit of HDL is stricly due to its effect on LDL levels
If true, this weakens the conclusion. Whereas the only thing we knew before is that more HDL is good for heart health, this choice tells us that the benefit of HDL is limited to its effect on LDL levels. Nandipa's LDL levels are already in the optimal range, so consuming foods with HDL will deliver no additional benefit to her heart health. Let's keep (B) around unless we see something more game-changing.

Quote:
C. The body produces all of the LDL it needs; so it is unnecessary to consume food containing this form of cholesterol
The conclusion has nothing to do with consumption of food containing LDL, and this choice doesn't provide information that links LDL to HDL. Eliminate (C).

Quote:
D. Plant-based diets reduce the sum of both ''good'' and ''bad'' cholesterol
We already know that Nandipa has a plant-based diet. This new information about what her diet does to the sum of LDL and HDL is irrelevant, because we're are analyzing whether Nandipa should modify that diet by consuming foods that contain HDL (such as chicken or fish). (D) doesn't impact the conclusion we care about, so we'll eliminate it.

Quote:
E. There are other foods besides chicken or fish that can increase the level of good cholesterol
Like answer choice (A), this choice underscores something we already know. Who cares how many foods have HDL? We want to know whether Nandipa should make the decision to begin eating these foods; it doesn't matter whether they're chicken, fish, eggs, steak, dosas, pie, bhindi masala, carne asada burritos, vanilla pudding, lamb tagine, Bavarian pretzels, or anything else that might increase HDL levels. Because this choice doesn't provide any information to strengthen or weaken Nandipa's choice to add foods containing HDL to her diet, we can eliminate it as well.

Unrelated: that last paragraph made me hungry. :-o

Anyway, (B) is the best answer. It's the only one that directly addresses Nandipa's decision and provides new information to help us assess that decision.
Show more

Hey, the question says “such foods” . Can it not mean the foods talked about here are chicken and fish?
Because if that’s the case the last option would do as she has no reason to add chicken and fish to the diet as she is already getting HDL from her current diet.?

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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 07 Aug 2024, 13:53
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Ayush8765
Hey, the question says “such foods” . Can it not mean the foods talked about here are chicken and fish?

Because if that’s the case the last option would do as she has no reason to add chicken and fish to the diet as she is already getting HDL from her current diet.?

Posted from my mobile device
Show more
­Please check out this post if you haven't already: https://gmatclub.com/forum/nandipa-wishes-to-maintain-her-heart-health-strictly-follows-a-plant-216133-20.html#p3435363.

Also, remember that her HDL IS low, and that’s why she’s considering consuming foods that would increase her HDL. This implies that she is not currently consuming those foods.

If you still have questions, let us know!
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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 17 Aug 2025, 00:18
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Please help me understand this better.
From the passage we know here HDL level is lower than optimal value. So for her heart health she has to increase HDL levels.
I understand that from option (B), we can conclude that there is no need to increase HDL levels. But this actually contradict the claim in passage that for a healthy heart, she has to increase the HDL levels.
Whereas from option (D), we can conclude that eating plant based diet is keeping the LDL in optimum levels and taking the HDL levels below optimum, so there is a need to include diet with HDL.
GMATNinja
Quote:
Hey abhimahna / GMATNinja
can you explain the reason to eliminate option D?

if both good and bad cholesterol go down because of plant-based of diets, then eating food such as chicken or fish would be beneficial to counter the effect of plant-based diet on good cholesterol

Hence I marked D. can you let me know your thoughts here?

Quote:
Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant-based diet and has successfully maintained her blood level of LDL, ''bad'' cholesterol at well within the range considered optimal for heart health. But She is worried that her blood of HDL, ''good'' cholesterol, is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health, and has thus considered consuming foods such as chicken or fish that would increase her blood level of this beneficial substance.
Nandipa has considered consuming foods that increase HDL blood level (such as chicken or fish) to maintain her heart health. Here's why she is considering this change:
  • She wishes to maintain heart health.
  • Her LDL level is in the range considered optimal for heart health.
  • Her HDL level is lower than is often considered optimal for heart health.
  • Foods such as chicken or fish would increase her HDL blood level. (Mmm... fish.)
  • Therefore, consuming foods such as chicken or fish will help Nandipa maintain heart health.

One thing that jumps out immediately from this breakdown is that there's no connection between LDL and HDL. We know that for optimal heart health, one should meet the optimal range for each type of cholesterol. But as far as we can tell, each type impacts heart health independently. This means that if we're analyzing the impact of consuming HDL via food, we shouldn't take into account the role of LDL unless we're given new information that explicitly links the two in their effect on heart health.

Quote:
Which of the following, if true , should be most significant for Nandipa in determining whether to add such foods to her diet?
We're looking for anything that could strengthen or weaken the conclusion that consuming foods that increase HDL blood level will help Nandipa maintain her heart health. Let's begin eliminating choices:

Quote:
A. HDL can help to protect against the accumulation of plagues (fatty deposits) in the arteries
This choice elaborates on what HDL literally does in the blood stream, but we already know that HDL is "good." Because (A) doesn't have any impact on Nandipa's conclusion (consume foods that contain HDL), we can eliminate it.

Quote:
B. The benefit of HDL is stricly due to its effect on LDL levels
If true, this weakens the conclusion. Whereas the only thing we knew before is that more HDL is good for heart health, this choice tells us that the benefit of HDL is limited to its effect on LDL levels. Nandipa's LDL levels are already in the optimal range, so consuming foods with HDL will deliver no additional benefit to her heart health. Let's keep (B) around unless we see something more game-changing.

Quote:
C. The body produces all of the LDL it needs; so it is unnecessary to consume food containing this form of cholesterol
The conclusion has nothing to do with consumption of food containing LDL, and this choice doesn't provide information that links LDL to HDL. Eliminate (C).

Quote:
D. Plant-based diets reduce the sum of both ''good'' and ''bad'' cholesterol
We already know that Nandipa has a plant-based diet. This new information about what her diet does to the sum of LDL and HDL is irrelevant, because we're are analyzing whether Nandipa should modify that diet by consuming foods that contain HDL (such as chicken or fish). (D) doesn't impact the conclusion we care about, so we'll eliminate it.

Quote:
E. There are other foods besides chicken or fish that can increase the level of good cholesterol
Like answer choice (A), this choice underscores something we already know. Who cares how many foods have HDL? We want to know whether Nandipa should make the decision to begin eating these foods; it doesn't matter whether they're chicken, fish, eggs, steak, dosas, pie, bhindi masala, carne asada burritos, vanilla pudding, lamb tagine, Bavarian pretzels, or anything else that might increase HDL levels. Because this choice doesn't provide any information to strengthen or weaken Nandipa's choice to add foods containing HDL to her diet, we can eliminate it as well.

Unrelated: that last paragraph made me hungry. :-o

Anyway, (B) is the best answer. It's the only one that directly addresses Nandipa's decision and provides new information to help us assess that decision.
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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 02 Sep 2025, 12:59
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Wazzzaa
Please help me understand this better.
From the passage we know here HDL level is lower than optimal value. So for her heart health she has to increase HDL levels.
I understand that from option (B), we can conclude that there is no need to increase HDL levels. But this actually contradict the claim in passage that for a healthy heart, she has to increase the HDL levels.
Whereas from option (D), we can conclude that eating plant based diet is keeping the LDL in optimum levels and taking the HDL levels below optimum, so there is a need to include diet with HDL.
Show more
This question really boils down to this: what info would help Nandipa make a smart choice about whether to start eating chicken to boost her HDL?

Imagine you're Nandipa. Your doctor tells you that that plant-based foods lower HDL and LDL. Would you leave this conversation thinking, "Now I finally have the info I need to make an informed decision about whether I should eat more chicken?"

Not really. You'd know why your HDL was low. But you wouldn't know if chicken would make you any healthier.

Put another way, your mistaken assumption was this line: "So for her heart health she has to increase HDL levels." We actually don't know that. We only know that her HDL level is below what's considered optimal.

If (B) is true, as you noted, there's no reason to increase HDL levels. If (D) is true, all we know is the cause of her low HDL. That's not terribly useful when it comes to her choice about whether to inhale more KFC.

I hope that clears things up!
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Nandipa wishes to maintain her heart health, strictly follows a plant. 26 Sep 2025, 02:29
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An interesting Critical Reasoning question- Let's break this down together in a way that will help you understand the core reasoning pattern here.

The Key Question You Need to Ask

Here's what you need to see: Nandipa already has optimal LDL levels from her plant-based diet, but she's worried about her low HDL levels. She's considering adding chicken or fish to raise HDL. The question asks what information would be most significant for her decision.

Think about it this way - what would actually help her decide whether changing her successful diet is worth it?

Let's Evaluate Each Option

Option A: "HDL can help protect against plaque accumulation"
This tells us HDL is generally good, but notice how this doesn't help Nandipa's specific situation. She already knows HDL is beneficial - that's why she's worried! But should she change a diet that's already working well for her LDL?

Option B: "The benefit of HDL is strictly due to its effect on LDL levels"
Now here's the crucial insight! If this is true, and HDL only helps by affecting LDL, then what happens in Nandipa's case? Her LDL is already optimal. So if HDL's only job is to help with LDL, and her LDL doesn't need help, then there's no reason to change her diet. This directly answers whether she should add chicken or fish.

Option C: Discusses LDL production, but Nandipa's concern is about HDL, not LDL.

Option D: Explains why her HDL might be low on a plant-based diet, but doesn't tell her whether she should do anything about it.

Option E: Suggests alternatives to chicken/fish, but doesn't help her decide whether raising HDL is even necessary.

The Answer

Option B is correct because it's the only choice that directly helps Nandipa evaluate the trade-off she faces. If HDL's benefit comes only through affecting LDL, and her LDL is already perfect, then maintaining her plant-based diet makes sense.

---

You can check out the step-by-step solution on Neuron by e-GMAT to master the systematic evaluation framework that applies to all similar "evaluate" questions. The complete solution shows you how to identify assumptions and create extreme scenarios that make the correct answer obvious. You can also explore other GMAT official questions with detailed solutions on Neuron for structured practice here.
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