PT50.S2.Q19 - fat is generally unhealthy

Comments

• LSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐

  August 2017 13286 karma

  I don't think you are missing something, I think you are just getting lost in translation.

  "mentioned as a reason for adopting a dietary practice that the dietitian provides reason for not carrying to the extreme. "

  "a reason to moderate the dietary practice of eating some fat with carrots"

  Don't those say the same thing?

  Eating moderate fat with some carrots IS the adopting a dietary practice in moderation.

  I think you just got lost in the abstract nature of the AC even though you knew what to look for.
• 1 Like

  Nikkkkkkk Live Member

  August 2017 edited August 2017 250 karma

  I also had trouble with this (though I answered it correctly the first time). I think I was also confused by the difference between "reason for adopting a dietary practice" and "reason for moderating a dietary practice."

  Aside from that, I also think my confusion lies in the double use of "reason." So:

  "It is mentioned as a reason (fat is unhealthy) for adopting a dietary practice (eating carrots with only some fat) that the dietician provides a reason (that fat is unhealthy, again??) for not carrying to the extreme."

  Do I have that right?
• iceman322 Alum Member

  August 2017 edited August 2017 70 karma

  @LSATcantwin I can't see how they are the same. To me it looks like (P2) is mentioned as a reason for adopting the dietary practice and (P3) is mentioned as a reason to moderate that practice. But the AC implies the opposite, that (P3) is mentioned as the reason for adopting the practice, and some other reason is given to moderate it.
• iceman322 Alum Member

  August 2017 70 karma

  @Csuposki We are on the same page. The AC makes it seem like the two reasons are different! And I really don't see how the fact that fat is unhealthy would serve as a reason to adopt the dietary practice of eating carrots with fat.
• Nikkkkkkk Live Member

  August 2017 250 karma

  @iceman322 I agree. That's how I interpreted the stimulus. The dietary practice being advocated, according to the stimulus, is NOT "eat carrots with just some fat." The practice being advocated is eat carrots "with at least some fat" (literally quoting the stimulus here).

  The AC implies that it's the former, but I feel as though that's a subtle inference we have to make, not necessarily what the stimulus is actually saying. I also feel that there's a distinction between the two.
• iceman322 Alum Member

  August 2017 70 karma

  @Csuposki Here is my last go at it:

  If we say that the dietary practice being advocated is to "eat carrots with moderate amounts of fat", then the AC can't be right. It can't be right because it amounts to saying that the dietician gives us a reason not to indulge in eating carrots with moderate amounts of fat. But in the stimulus the dietician doesn't give a reason to not indulge in eating carrots with moderate amounts of fat. Instead, he only gives a reason to moderate the amount of fat we eat while eating with carrots with fat.

  Alternatively, if we say that the dietary practice being advocated is merely to "eat carrots with fat", then again, the AC can't be right. It can't be right because, if anything, the statement that "fat in one's diet is generally unhealthy" gives us a reason not to adopt the diet of eating carrots with fat.

  I see why the AC is more appealing than the others, but it seems like it's deeply flawed.
• LSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐

  August 2017 edited August 2017 13286 karma

  Okay sorry, I'm going to try and go more into detail today. I had a busy night last night and wasn't able to make it back to this question.

  This question asks us to identify the role the statement "that fat in one's diet is generally unhealthy" plays in the argument.

  Our argument says;

  • Nutrients are most effective when provided by natural foods rather than artificial supplements.

  • While it is also true that fat in one's diet is generally unhealthy (What we need to identify)

  This next part is our conclusion;

  • Eating raw carrots by themselves is not an effective means of obtaining vitamin A,

  ---- Why is eating raw carrots by themselves not an effective means of obtaining vitamin A? The dietitian says well,

  • Because the body cannot transform BC into vitamin A unless it is consumed with at least some fat.

  Okay. So we have our argument laid out. We see that the conclusion is "eating raw carrots by themselves is not an effective means of obtaining vitamin A because our body needs some fat to convert BC" according to the Dietitian, so what role did the statement play?

  We are told that eating fat is generally accepted as unhealthy, but what is her argument really trying to say? She's saying "yeah man eating fat is not really that great for you, but you need some in order to get vitamin A out of carrots."

  We are given the reason why fat should be limited (generally unhealthy) but we need to eat at least a little fat in order to convert BC into Vitamin A.

  So the act of eating a little fat (adopting a dietary practice) should not be carried to the extreme (because it's unhealthy to eat a lot fat)

  The question really requires mental gymnastics to root out the problem I was only able to get there when I pulled myself back and said "wtf is this dietitian trying to get at?"

  When I asked myself that I saw that she was saying "eat a little fat to help get vitamin A out of carrots, just don't over do it because we know that's bad"

  Once I saw that, the answer became more apparent to me. I realize this might not actually do anything to further your understanding of the question. It's how I personally came to the correct answer.