meenakshimiyer wrote:
Hi, I don't really get why option A is correct in this question. Option A talks about compensation for the negative effects of artificial fat. If we go by this option's logic, we might as well say that cigarettes might not be harmful for health just because we can eat more fruits to compensate for the negative effects of it.
Also, I believe that option B is a better choice because if the vitamins that are absorbed by the fat are present in the food, then artificial fat would indeed absorb them leading to adverse effects, thereby strengthening the argument. However, if the vitamins are not present in the food, the artificial fat would not really absorb anything and therefore not lead to any adverse effects, thereby weakening the argument.
GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo
egmat gmat1393 nightblade354 Kindly tell me whether I am missing something or whether there is a gap in my understanding. Thanks!
The columnist argues that "people should avoid using a certain artificial fat" because "it absorbs certain essential vitamins, thereby preventing them from being used by the body."
We need to find the answer choice that would be most useful in evaluating this argument.
First take a look at (B):
Quote:
(B) Whether the vitamins that the artificial fat absorbs are present in foods that contain the fat
We know from the passage that the artificial fat prevents the body from absorbing certain essential vitamins. Is it important to determine whether these vitamins are present specifically
"in foods that contain the fat," as written in answer choice (B)?
Not particularly. The vitamins could be in those exact foods, or could be in other foods that a person eats around the same time as the ones with the artificial fat. The result, according to the information in the passage, would be the same -- the artificial fat would prevent the body from absorbing the vitamins. Answer choice (B) is not important in evaluating the columnist's argument, because the conclusion could be valid whether the vitamins are in foods that contain the fat or in other foods. (B) is out.
Now take a look at (A):
Quote:
(A) Whether increasing one's intake of the vitamins can compensate for the effects of the artificial fat
The columnist's conclusion depends on the fact that the artificial fat prevents the body from absorbing essential vitamins. (A) opens up the possibility that one could compensate for this effect by increasing vitamin intake.
An analogy to smoking is not quite right, because while smoking has adverse effects, it does not have any notable positive effects that would prompt a "medical adviser" to recommend it to a patient (unless I'm missing some significant information on this topic). The artificial fat discussed in this passage, on the other hand, does negate the "negative health effects of fat." Because the artificial fat has this positive effect, it would be incredibly useful to find out whether one can simply consume more vitamins to avoid the negative effect that supports the author's conclusion.
If "increasing one's intake of the vitamins can compensate for the effects of the artificial fat," then the author's conclusion is significantly weakened because people could experience the positive effects of reducing fat intake without missing out on essential vitamins. Because of this, (A) is the correct answer.
I hope that helps!