ARGUMENT162 by zephyrqq

zephyrqqUID: 2260290

ARGUMENT162 - A recent study shows that people living on the continent of North America suffer 9 times more chronic fatigue and 31 times more chronic depression than do people living on the continent of Asia. Interestingly, Asians, on average, eat 20 grams of soy per day, whereas North Americans eat virtually none. It turns out that soy contains phytochemicals called isoflavones, which have been found to possess disease-preventing properties. Thus, North Americans should consider eating soy on a regular basis as a way of preventing fatigue and depression
字数：338   544       用时：00:45:00   改了40分钟 日期2008-2-20 20:30:40
1.食豆和预防疲劳以及抑郁没有因果关系
2.亚洲人适合的方法不一定对北美人有效
3.没有考虑其他会影响疲劳和抑郁的因素，如天气，工作压力

Before recommending North Americans that they should consider eating soy on a regular basis to prevent fatigue and depression, we should reflect the reasons given in this argument once more. It seems that the author  commits a false analogy and assume that what is true to Asians can necessarily be apply to North Americans--a total different group of people.

To begin with, there is no sufficient evidence showing that soy can help to keep Asians from developing fatigue and depression. First, although soy contains isoflavones which have been found to possess disease-preventing abilities, it is ridiculous to assert that isoflavones could prevent fatigue and depression. It is entirely possible that these phytochemicals can prevent the happening of other diseases like hypertension, heart disease, inflammation, cancer and so forth, but they actually  have nothing to do with fatigue and depression. Secondly, the author turns a blind eye to other factors that might contribute significantly to the reducing of fatigue and depression for people living on the continent of Asia. Perhaps, it is their special habit of the eating other things more, for example rice, that works effectively. It is also possible that this favorable result is caused by their healthy living habit, such as keeping good times and doing exercise frequently. Any of these scenarios, if true, can undermine the author's presumption that people can prevent fatigue and depression just  by eating soy.

Furthermore, even assuming that Asians enjoy a relative low rate of fatigue and depression due to the contribution of eating soy, the author unfairly assume that North Americans would reduce their fatigue and depression by following exactly the same way. As is known to all, Asians and North Americans come from different ethnic groups respectively, and therefore it is understandable that some genetic or physical differences might inevitably exist between them by nature. Soy as a kind of food, which might be perfectly suitable for an Asian might not fit the constitution of a North American.

Finally, the author overlooks other factors that could influence fatigue and depression. Take climate for example. As these two groups of people live in different continents, they might live under dissimilar climates. And agreeable climate tend to alleviate people’s fatigue and depression, and terrible climate might be more likely to aggravated them. If their suffers have something to do with frequent bad whether or extremely low temperature in some times of the year, trying to hold a positive and optimistic attitude and keep their mood free from the bad impact of climate might be a remedy. When it comes to work stress, it is the same. If the status of North Americans mainly due to their unbearable stress from work or study, taking effective measures to relax themselves in spare time should be a more effective way for them to relief their fatigue and depression.


For all these reasons, this argument is unsubstantial as it stands. To better bolster it, the author should establish a causal relationship between eating soy and preventing fatigue and depression. And further studies which prove that soy could play a role in helping North Americans prevent these sufferings will also be helpful. It would be even better if he can take all the factors that might have influence into account.


[ 本帖最后由 zephyrqq 于 2008-4-29 13:12 编辑 ]