Q5 - Eating turmeric, a spice commonly found

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Breakdown:
Conclusion: Eating turmeric probably helps prevent Alzheimer's.
Evidence: In India, they consumer more turmeric per capita than anywhere and they have one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's. Also, a compound found in turmeric has been found to reduce the protein buildup associated with Alzheimer's.

Answer Anticipation:
We have a correlation to causality move, so we should consider the two questions we always do:
1. Is there some other way to explain why Alzheimer's is so low in India?
2. How plausible is the author's idea that eating turmeric can help prevent Alzheimer's?

On a Strengthen question, you usually rule out an alternate explanation for the background fact, or you increase the plausibility of the author's causal story. We already know that there's some plausibility to the author's story, since a compound in turmeric reduces the protein buildup caused by Alzheimer's.

Do we know that when you eat turmeric you actually absorb that compound? (or does it boil off or get chemically changed by other stuff in the curry)
Do we know that preventing the accumulation of proteins would actually help prevent Alzheimer's? (does something that reduces an effect of Alzheimer's therefore help prevent Alzheimer's?)
And we might look for classic Covariation answers, like "people in India who DON'T eat curries have rates of Alzheimer's that look more like the higher ones in the rest of the world".

Correct Answer:
E

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) Hmmm, this feels kinda tempting, although this dilutes the specialness of the India/turmeric connection. Part of the author's evidence was the unusual coincidence that India is #1 for turmeric consumption and lowest rate of Alzheimer's. Without knowing that India is ALSO #1 for rosemary and ginger consumption, this answer kind of weakens that aspect of the argument.

(B) This weakens, by undermining the notion that because turmeric would reduce protein buildup it could help prevent Alzheimer's.

(C) This weakens, by providing an alternate explanation for India's low Alz rate.

(D) If none of them have been studied, this isn't providing much, if any, new information.

(E) YES, this looks like a strong covariation answer. The more curries (the more turmeric), the less Alzheimer's.

Takeaway/Pattern: (A) may have seemed tempting/confusing to many, but it would help to better persuade us that India has a low rate of Alzheimer's because of what they eat. It wouldn't help to better persuade us that turmeric lowers the rate of Alzheimer's. Meanwhile, (E) gives us sharper evidence that turmeric consumption and less Alzheimer's go hand-in-hand (covariation). Most correct answers when we're strengthening a Causal conclusion are of the covariation form. Also, savvy (or pathetically familiar, like me) LSAT test takers probably just KNEW that whole aside of "commonly found in curries" was in the stimulus for a reason. Sure enough, (E) made use of it, by using "curry" as a code word for "eating turmeric".

#officialexplanation

[lubeid784]

I am a little confused about D. It seems D may rule out an alternative explanation.

I try to persuade myself in that way that D just point out that other compounds didn't be chosen to study whether they could affect the accumulation of Amyloid. It just mean no compound has been STUDIED. Are they have the ability to affect the accumulation? I don't know exactly. It doesn't mean other compounds were PROVEN to have no effect on the accumulation.

Is it right?

Thanks in advance.