ARGUMENT142 [Victors]加强小组第四次作业 by jennetrj

jennetrjUID: 2275453

142.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.


80 min  702 words

In this argument, the author concludes that the correlation between high iron levels and heart disease is a function of the correlation between red meat diet and heart disease. To justify this conclusion, the author cites the recent study indicating correlation between high level of iron in diet and increased risk of heart disease. Moreover, the author points out the well established knowledge that large amount of red meat intake, which is high in iron, induces heart disease. At first glance, the argument seems to be somehow plausible, but close scrutiny reveals several flaws in it.

To begin with, the reliability of the research mentioned in the passage still opens to question. The information provided is too vague to be informative. There's no indication about how many people were enrolled in the study and whether they could be the representative of the general. It is totally possible that only 20 middle-aged men were studied. Or perhaps the study only last one year, which is not long enough for evaluating long-effect of high level of iron intake in diet. Besides, the author fails to mention the exact risk of heart disease induced by high level of iron in diet and whether it is statistically significant while compares to the heart disease incidence among people with normal diet. Maybe after taking long time of excessive iron, the risk of heart disease is only 0.1% higher. Without such information, the conclusion that high level iron in diet would cause heart disease could not be taken seriously.

Furthermore, the author unfairly assumes that high iron in red meat should be responsible for the red meat induced heart disease. There are other nutrients contained in the red meat that could be related to heart disease. For instance, the relationship between high level of cholesterol in the red meat and the coronary heart disease is well-accepted by medical professionals and the public. Or perhaps iron in red meat could not be well-absorbed by the human body, although it is of quite high level in the diet. Author's failure to eliminate or even consider this possibility renders the conclusion that high iron in red meat should be responsible for the heart disease.

Even if high level of iron in diet could induce heart disease and the existence of high iron in red meat might make people suffering from heart disease, the author simply alleges that the former disease is the same type as the latter one. No evidence indicated in the passage to prove it. It is totally possible that high level of iron in diet destroys people's internal mineral balance so that interferes heart rhythm, while high level iron in red meat acts with other components, such as cholesterol, to induce the plaques in the heart vessels and finally causes the vessel obstruction, which is called coronary heart disease. If this is the case, it would serve to undermine the conclusion that correlation between high iron levels and heart disease is most a function of correlation between red meat and heart disease.

Finally, the author fails to eliminate other possibilities that might lead to excessive intake of iron or high level of iron in human body. Perhaps other food contains much more iron which could be easier absorbed, or maybe other kind of metabolic disturbance could also induce abnormal high level of iron, such as some congenital diseases. Until the author completes the analysis, the conclusion that red meat intake engenders high level iron thus cause heart disease could not be accepted.

In sum, the argument is groundless as it stands. To consolidate it, the author should provide more information about the study mentioned in the upper passage, such as the reliability of the research including the representativeness of the samples, exact increased risk of heart disease. In addition, the author should ensure us that the high level of iron in red meat is responsible for the heart disease and whether it is the same one as the heart disease mentioned in the study. To better assess it, we need to know whether high iron levels could only be induced by red meat intake so as to establish the causal relationship between red meat intake and heart disease.

coraoneUID: 2233021

这几天学校事情有点多，手下了先，抓紧时间改完我就发上来