Medical columnist: Some doctors

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct97% picked this

   Some kinds of cancer cells absorb large amounts of vitamin C, which interferes with the oxidation mechanism by which many

   Why this is right

   This resolves the paradox cleanly. Cancer cells absorb large amounts of vitamin C, and that absorption interferes with the oxidation mechanism many cancer therapies use to kill cancer cells. So for cancer patients undergoing therapy, vitamin C actively undermines the treatment — it protects the cancer cells from the very mechanism that's supposed to kill them. That's a unique downside that doesn't apply to people taking vitamin C for general health, and it explains why doctors flip their recommendation specifically for this group.

   Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   97%
2. B

   No Impact1% picked this

   Vitamin C has not been shown to reduce people's risk of developing cancer, even at the very high dosage

   This says vitamin C hasn't been shown to prevent cancer. But doctors are discouraging it from people who already have cancer — preventive efficacy is a separate question. Whether vitamin C prevents cancer or not doesn't explain why doctors actively discourage cancer patients in treatment from taking it.

   1%
3. C

   No Impact1% picked this

   Cancer cells that are susceptible to certain types of cancer therapies are not likely to be affected by

   This says cancer cells susceptible to certain therapies aren't affected by vitamin C. If vitamin C neither helps nor hurts the cancer cells, then it's neutral with respect to therapy — which would not explain why doctors actively discourage patients from taking it. We need a reason vitamin C is bad for cancer patients in therapy, and this gives a reason it's not bad.

   1%
4. D

   Cheats Paradox0% picked this

   The better the overall health of cancer patients while undergoing therapy, the more likely they are to

   This deepens the puzzle rather than resolving it. If patients with better overall health during therapy are more likely to recover, then anything that improves overall health (like vitamin C, an antioxidant) should be encouraged. This makes the doctors' recommendation against vitamin C even more puzzling, not less.

   0%
5. E

   No Impact1% picked this

   Certain side effects of cancer therapies that are detrimental to patients' overall health are not

   This tells us vitamin C doesn't help with certain side effects. If vitamin C is just unhelpful in this specific way, doctors might be neutral about it — but they're actively discouraging it. We need a reason vitamin C is harmful, not just unhelpful. Failing to address some side effects doesn't explain why patients are warned away from taking it.

   1%