Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain

Question

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumers blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.

Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?

(A) Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day.

(B) One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food.

(C) Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk.

(D) Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk.

(E) The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain.

Source: LSAT

Skywalker18 · Answer

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumers blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.

Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?

(A) Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day. - warns about saturated fat, but doesn't give us the reason why. This doesn't show non-dairy lighteners could raise cholesterol.

(B) One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food. - Correct

(C) Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk. -is out of scope. The stimulus is about non-dairy lighteners, not light cream.

(D) Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk. -is out scope. The stimulus is about non-dairy lighteners made from coconut oil.

(E) The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain. -is great, but how do these cholesterol free products raise one's cholesterol.

Answer B

unraveled · Answer

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumers blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.

Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?

(A) Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day. - WRONG. A recommendation by nutritionists is irrelevant.

(B) One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food. - CORRECT. 2grams of SF = 50mg of C. This resolves and helps.

(C) Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk. - WRONG. What percentage does these consumer hold altogether? Knowing that too would not be helpful.

(D) Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk. - WRONG. Confuses more and does not help resolve the discrepancy.

(E) The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain. - WRONG. What is that relatively among the two in discussion? No concrete reference is there, thus not the right answer.

Answer B.

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

We're told that nondairy products have 2g of fat, and that this is 7 times the saturated fat of milk. So milk has about 2/7 g of saturated fat. However, milk has 2 mg of cholesterol, while the nondairy products have none. So here's what we have:

Nondairy: 2g sat fat, 0 mg cholesterol
Milk: ~.29 g sat fat, 2 mg cholesterol

We're also told that we treat 1g of sat fat like 25 mg of cholesterol. Since nondairy has over 1g more sat fat than milk has, it's as if it has more than 25 mg more cholesterol than coffee, so we'd expect it to have a stronger effect on blood cholesterol. If you want to geek out on the math (try not to during a timed problem), here it is:

Difference in sat fat = 2 - 0.29 = 1.71 g. Cholesterol equivalent = 1.71(25 mg) =42.75 mg. So according to this formula, it's as if nondairy has ~43 mg cholesterol, vs. just 2 for milk. And that's why I choose nondairy milks that aren't full of saturated fat!

eeshajain · Answer

I'm failing to see how option B resolves the discrepancy. Please explain.

guddo · Answer

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, or 7 times more than does whole milk, those lighteners usually contain no cholesterol. Yet one tablespoon of such lighteners causes the consumers blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does an identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.
 
 Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the apparent discrepancy noted above?

The passage says the coconut oil lightener has no dietary cholesterol but much more saturated fat than whole milk, yet it raises blood cholesterol more. The discrepancy can be explained if saturated fat itself strongly raises blood cholesterol.

A. Nutritionists recommend that adults consume as little saturated fat as possible and no more than 250 milligrams of cholesterol a day.

This is a guideline, not a mechanism. It does not explain why the lightener raises blood cholesterol more than milk.

B. One gram of saturated fat in food has roughly the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol in food.

This explains the discrepancy . If saturated fat raises blood cholesterol about as much as dietary cholesterol, then the lightener’s  much higher saturated fat  can raise blood cholesterol more even though it has zero cholesterol.

C. Light cream, a dairy product that contains 5 times more cholesterol than does whole milk, is often chosen as a lightener by consumers who normally prefer whole milk.

Irrelevant. It does not explain the coconut oil lightener vs whole milk result.

D. Certain nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil contain less saturated fat and less cholesterol than does whole milk.

Irrelevant to the specific coconut oil lighteners being discussed.

E. The lower the saturated fat content of dairy products, the less cholesterol they usually contain.

This is a general correlation about dairy products. It does not explain why a non dairy product with no cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol more.

Answer: (B)

Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain

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Although nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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