Medical columnist: Some doctors recommend taking vitamin C to help maintain overall health because vitamin C is an antioxidant, a substance that protects the body from certain types of oxygen particles that can trigger disease. People suffering from various ailments are encouraged to take vitamin C to guard against developing other health problems. However, doctors are now discouraging some cancer patients from taking vitamin C, even when they are undergoing therapies with side effects that are detrimental to their overall health.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do doctors discourage some cancer patients from taking vitamin C, even though some doctors encourage people suffering from other illnesses to take vitamin C to guard against developing other health problems?
Objective
The correct answer should help suggest how taking vitamin C might be negative for cancer patients, even if it’s helpful for patients with other illnesses.
A
Some kinds of cancer cells absorb large amounts of vitamin C, which interferes with the oxidation mechanism by which many cancer therapies kill cancer cells.
This helps show that vitamin C could be negative for cancer patients. If some cancer cells interfere with cancer therapies by absorbing lots of vitamin C, taking vitamin C might undermine the effectiveness of cancer therapies.
B
Vitamin C has not been shown to reduce people’s risk of developing cancer, even at the very high dosage levels recommended by some doctors.
Vitamin C is recommended because it helps guard against developing “other health problems.” So, even if it doesn’t help with cancer, it can still guard against other illnesses in a cancer patient. We’d still expect doctors to recommend vitamin C to cancer patients.
C
Cancer cells that are susceptible to certain types of cancer therapies are not likely to be affected by the presence of vitamin C.
Vitamin C is recommended because it helps guard against developing “other health problems.” Even if it doesn’t help with killing cancer cells, it can still guard against other illnesses in a cancer patient. We’d still expect doctors to recommend vitamin C to cancer patients.
D
The better the overall health of cancer patients while undergoing therapy, the more likely they are to experience a full recovery.
This doesn’t tell us anything about vitamin C or how it might affect cancer patients.
E
Certain side effects of cancer therapies that are detrimental to patients’ overall health are not affected by vitamin C.
Vitamin C is recommended because it guards against developing “other health problems.” Even if it doesn’t help with side effects of therapies, it can still guard against other illnesses in a cancer patient. We’d still expect doctors to recommend vitamin C to cancer patients.
A
More people are willing to see a film more than once than are willing to watch a television show more than once.
B
There is no analog in television to the large profits that owners of movie theaters make by selling refreshments to their customers.
C
The average cost of producing an hour of film is much greater than the average cost of producing an hour of television.
D
Television shows make their profits from sponsors, who are chiefly concerned with the purchasing power of the people who watch a television show.
E
Over half of the most popular television shows are shows that viewers do not have to pay to watch.
A
People’s opinions never change very much.
B
A minority of Denmark’s population feels that banning cigarette advertising would set a bad precedent.
C
Most of Denmark’s population is not seriously concerned about cigarette advertising.
D
Most of Denmark’s population favors some sort of ban on cigarette advertising.
E
Most of Denmark’s population does not smoke cigarettes.
Anna: That plan would fail. Cacao, like cloudberries, was once harvested from wild plants. When chocolate became popular in Europe, the cacao gatherers could not supply enough to meet the increased demand, and farmers began to grow large quantities of it at low cost. Now all cacao used in commercial chocolate production is grown on farms. Likewise, if the demand for cloudberries increases, domesticated berries grown on farms will completely supplant berries gathered in the wild.
A
giving a reason why a proposed course of action would be beneficial to all those affected by it
B
reinterpreting evidence presented in support of a proposal as a reason to reject the proposal
C
projecting the result of following a proposal in a given situation by comparing that situation with a past situation
D
proposing a general theory as a way of explaining a specific market situation
E
contending that the uses for one product are similar to the uses for another product