The extract of the cacao leaves was considered a miracle cure-all in

Question

The extract of the cacao leaves was considered a miracle cure-all in the 1800s. Doctors believed that a mixture of the extract and wine, if drunk regularly, could kill off parasitic infestations, destroy tumors, and revitalize living tissue.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the logic of the belief described above is flawed?

A. To make the cacao leaf extract safer to consume, it could be diluted with alcohol without weakening its desired effects. 
B. Since tumors are living cells, the mixture would affect them in the same way that it would affect living tissue.
C. It cannot be presumed that the use of a particular medication is always appropriate.
D. If the suggested treatment were put into effect on a wide scale, healthcare costs would be lower than they are now.
E. Because consuming the cacao leaf extract would alter the consumer’s metabolism, a new diet would have to be designed for them to remain healthy.

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ankushsambare · Answer

Premise:
Doctors believed:
 
 cacao leaf extract + wine
→ kills parasites
→ destroys tumors
→ revitalizes living tissue  
So the logic assumes:
A single mixture can safely and selectively “fix” multiple serious conditions in the body.
We are asked:
Which option most strongly shows this belief is logically flawed?
Prethinking:
To weaken the logic, we should attack the assumption that:
 
 the treatment works as claimed, or 
 it can selectively target harmful things without damaging the body  
Now eliminate:
A. Dilution doesn’t weaken effects
→ supports possibility, not a flaw → eliminate
B. Tumors are living cells like tissue
→ actually supports the doctors’ reasoning → eliminate
C. Medication not always appropriate
→ too general, no logical contradiction → eliminate
D. Lowers healthcare costs
→ irrelevant to effectiveness → eliminate
E. Extract changes metabolism → diet must change
→ suggests the substance has broad systemic effects, meaning it disrupts normal body functioning
→ this challenges the assumption of “safe targeted healing” and suggests unintended widespread effects
→ best indicates flawed logic
 Final Answer: E

rajdeep212003 · Answer

I think the conclusion here is:

-- the mixture works as a miracle cure because it can destroy tumors while revitalizing living tissue.

Premise:
The doctors believed the extract could:
- kill parasites
- destroy tumors
- revitalize living tissue

Why B is correct:

Option B says tumors are themselves living cells, and the mixture would affect tumors the same way it affects living tissue.

That creates the flaw directly.

If tumors and living tissue are affected in the same way, then the mixture cannot both:
- destroy tumors
and
- revitalize living tissue

That is the contradiction in the argument, so B attacks the logic at its core.

Why I eliminated the others:

A:
Only talks about making the extract safer by dilution. It does not weaken the actual reasoning.

C:
Very broad statement about medication in general. It does not specifically attack this argument.

D:
Talks about healthcare costs, which is outside the logic of the cure itself.

E:
This one looked tempting initially, but it only introduces a side effect (metabolism/diet changes). A treatment can still work even if side effects exist, so it does not expose a flaw in the reasoning.

So for me, B directly exposes the internal contradiction, while E only discusses a possible consequence.

— Rajdeep

Ikemen · Answer

The correct answer is B. 
Nowhere on this blue planet is E the right answer.

The structure of the argument: 
1. mixture kills parasitic infestations
2. mixture destroys tumors
3. mixture revitalize living tissue

The goal for the problem is to find the internal flaw of the logic. Namely, you need to find a flaw in the logic chain presented above.
Now B gives that flaw point-blank.  for if both tumors and living tissues are living cell, then how does the same mixture both kill and revitalize the same target.

E is a real world concern. Not a logic flaw, it is an out of scope answer choice.

The extract of the cacao leaves was considered a miracle cure-all in

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The extract of the cacao leaves was considered a miracle cure-all in

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