#4- People who consume a lot of honey tend to have fewer

[candaceross]

Hello,
Can someone please explain to me how A does not resolve the paradox?

Thank you.

[Steve Stein]

Hi Candace,

In that one, the apparent paradox is that people who eat a lot of honey don't get as many cavities as others, even though honey has a lot of sugar.

Answer choice (E) resolves the paradox, providing that honey inhibits the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Answer choice (A) provides that people who eat a lot of honey don't consume much other sugar. But they still eat a lot of honey, and honey has a lot of sugar, maintaining the apparent paradox.

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know--thanks!

-Steve

[candaceross]

Hi Steve,

Yes it does. Thank you very much

[gavelgirl]

Hello,

I wanted to put E but ended up going with A only because when I read answer choice E, I thought that "honey containing bacteria that inhibit the growth of the bacteria that cause tooth decay" would be incorrect based on the face that the decay is being prevented from bacteria but not by avoiding sugar. Couldn't this bacteria formation to prevent tooth decay only stop tooth decay, but do nothing that thwarts sugar consumption from preventing tooth decay?

Clearly I am reading too much into this because I got the answer wrong and the LSAT makers are always right but I can't help but to think this way since this was my thought process when first reading the question.

Please help! Thanks

[KelseyWoods]

Hi gavelgirl!

The paradox here is that sugar is one of the leading causes of tooth decay, yet people who eat a lot of honey, which is high in sugar, tend to have fewer cavities than others. So we are looking for an answer choice that explains why, even though honey is high in sugar, people who eat a lot of it have fewer cavities than others. Essentially, we're looking for something that explains why eating honey leads to fewer cavities even though it is high in sugar.

Answer choice (E) tells us that honey contains bacteria that inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause tooth decay. This could help compensate for honey's high sugar content. Yes, sugar can cause tooth decay. But if honey helps to prevent one of the other causes of tooth decay (bacteria) then it could compensate for its high sugar content.

Honey doesn't have to directly prevent sugar from causing tooth decay. It just has to have mitigating effects on other factors that contribute to tooth decay. Answer choice (A) just says that people eating a lot of honey don't eat a lot of other sugar sources but they still eat a lot of honey which is high in sugar so it doesn't explain why they would have fewer cavities.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[lemonade42]

Hello, can someone explain why (C) is wrong. If the people who ate lots of honey also brush their teeth a lot, while the people who don't eat honey don't brush their teeth a lot, wouldn't that resolve why those that eat honey have less cavities?

[Dana D]

Hey lemonade,

Answer choice (C) says only that people's hygiene habits vary. This alone does not explain why people who consume a lot of honey have fewer cavities. You assume that answer choice (C) could mean that people who eat a lot of honey also have better dental hygiene habits than those who don't eat honey, but answer (C) could just as easily mean those who eat a lot of honey also don't brush their teeth, and they still get less cavities than those who eat no honey and who brush and floss every day. If that was the case, we'd still be confused as to how this is possible, so answer choice (C) does not most help resolve the paradox.