PrepTest 149, Section 3, Question 5
Eating turmeric, a spice commonly found in curries,(65 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- ARosemary and ginger,(23 more words not shown)
- BMany scientists believe(20 more words not shown)
- CThe proportion of(32 more words not shown)
- DNone of the(18 more words not shown)
- EThe parts of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe something else about the diet makes the difference.
Higher turmeric consumption and lower Alzheimer's incidence in India fit the proposed connection. But countries can differ in many ways. Other foods or habits could help explain the lower incidence. The comparison alone doesn't isolate turmeric's effect.
The animal study gives us more to work with. Curcumin reduces the accumulation of proteins associated with Alzheimer's, so there is a possible mechanism to investigate. Still, being characteristic of a disease doesn't establish that the protein buildup causes it, and a result in animals doesn't by itself establish prevention in humans. This is more promising than the country comparison alone, but the conclusion is only 'probably helps,' so we shouldn't demand a guarantee.
What we’re looking for
For a strengthener, my first thought is another place where people who eat more turmeric also have less Alzheimer's. Evidence strengthening the proposed curcumin mechanism could help too. Either would give us more reason to connect turmeric itself with the lower incidence.
Working the answers
- A
Other commonly consumed spices with similar effects don't single out turmeric. They could provide a competing explanation for India's lower incidence if their compounds offer the proposed benefit. Turmeric needn't be the only helpful spice, but learning about other candidates doesn't add support for attributing the observed difference to this one.
- B
If the plaques are a symptom rather than a cause, reducing their buildup needn't prevent the disease. That challenges the proposed mechanism. It doesn't prove turmeric can have no benefit through any route, but it makes the animal result less persuasive as evidence for prevention.
- C
This supplies another reason to expect lower incidence in India: a smaller share of its population belongs to the age group most prone to the disease. That difference could help account for the country comparison without a protective effect from turmeric. We don't have to assume nobody outside that age group develops Alzheimer's to see why the comparison matters.
- D
Not studying the other compounds doesn't tell us whether they help, hurt, or do nothing. The absence of that research isn't further evidence for the proposed benefit. Nor does the argument need curcumin to be the only potentially relevant compound in turmeric.
- ECorrect
This checks a pattern within India rather than in another country, as I first imagined. Areas with the highest curry consumption have the lowest Alzheimer's incidence. Since turmeric is commonly found in curry, that is another pattern consistent with the proposed protective effect. It goes beyond treating India as one undivided group. Other differences between the regions or ingredients could still explain it, and curry consumption isn't a direct measurement of turmeric's effect. But the additional pattern strengthens the proposed connection without proving it.
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