ARGUMENT142 一早醒来就写的

EricatutuUID: 2297398

TOPIC: ARGUMENT142 - The article entitled 'Eating Iron' in last month's issue of Eating for Health reported that a recent study found a correlation between high levels of iron in the diet and an increased risk of heart disease. Further, it is well established that there is a link between large amounts of red meat in the diet and heart disease, and red meat is high in iron. On the basis of the study and the well-established link between red meat and heart disease, we can conclude that the correlation between high iron levels and heart disease, then, is most probably a function of the correlation between red meat and heart disease.
WORDS: 538          TIME: 0:30:58          DATE: 2007-2-26

In the argument, the author reaches the conclusion that the correlation between high iron levels and heart disease leads to the correlation between red meat and heart disease.  To support the argument, the author cites an article which indicates a correlation between high levels of iron in the diet and an increased risk of heart disease and a well-established linkage between large amounts of red meat in diet and heart disease.  Further more, the author reasons that red meat is high in iron.  At first glance, this argument appears to be somewhat convincing, but further reflection reveals that it omits some important concerns that should be addressed to substantiate the argument.

The threshold problem with the argument is that study in last month's issue of Eating for Health is too vague to be informative.  The author fails to provide us any information about who conducted the study, how and where the study was conducted, and how many people were involved in the study.  Lacking information about the number of the people surveyed and the number of people responded to the study, it is entirely possible that there are 200 people involved in the study and only 2 of them responded.  Since the author cannot eliminate such possibility, any conclusion based on that untenable result is highly suspect.

Further more, the author relies on the assumption that high level of iron in the diet is the only factor for heart diseases.  However, it is not necessarily the case.  The author fails to offer us any information about the health or lifestyle background of the people involved in the study.  Perhaps all the people surveyed were in their 70s or 80s.  Or perhaps most of them have some chronic diseases, like hypertension, diabetics or hyperlipidemia which will all contribute to the heart disease.  Or perhaps all the people were heavy smoker or indulged in drink.  Without ruling out all the possibilities above mentioned, any conclusion based on that vague study is dubious at best.

Even if I were concede that it is well established that high level of iron in the diet leads to high incidence of heart disease, I cannot be persuaded that this leads to the correlation between high large amounts of red meat in the diet and heart disease, which is simply based on the reason that red meat is high in iron.  It is entirely possible that the red meat is rich or other harmful ingredient, like high level of protein or lipid, that can cause the heart disease.  Additionally, as we all know that there are lot of food or vegetable that which are high in iron.  Are the people who are fond of those food have a high incidence of heart disease?  Only if the author can provide us the data of a further survey about other high iron contained food that can he or she draw the conclusion.

In sum, the author fails to validate the argument.  To make the argument logically acceptable the author needs to provide us more information about the study to substantiate the reliability of it.  Further more, the author have to provide us more concrete evidence to establish the causal relationship of the correlation between red meat and heart disease.

[ 本帖最后由 lastangel 于 2007-2-26 13:48 编辑 ]