We are told that nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, which is 7 times more than does whole milk, and does not contain any cholesterol. However, one tablespoon of the nondairy lightener causes the consumer's blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than does the identical amount of whole milk, which contains 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon.
So why is that that the nondairy lightener that has no cholesterol, but more saturated fat than whole milk, causes one's blood cholesterol to rise higher than when an identical amount of whole milk, which has 2 milligrams of cholesterol per tablespoon, is ingested?
Answer choice (B) helps us solve this riddle.
If it is true that one gram of saturated fat in food has about the same effect on blood cholesterol as 25 milligrams of cholesterol food, then it makes sense that the nondairy lightener, which has 7 times more saturated fat than whole milk, causes a greater rise in cholesterol than whole milk which only has 2 milligrams of cholesterol, i.e. we are comparing 50 milligrams (2 grams of saturated fat in nondairy x 25 milligrams) to 2 milligrams.
Therefore, answer choice (B) is correct.
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Julie-VAugust 12, 2019
Thank you for explaining why (B) is correct!
This was a challenging question for me, so could someone go through the incorrect answer choices and explain why they don't resolve the paradox? Thanks!
VictoriaAugust 12, 2019
Hi @Julie-V
Happy to help!
We know that the paradox is that nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil contain 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon (7 times that of whole milk) and no cholesterol yet, they cause the consumer's blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than whole milk which does not contain cholesterol.
A is incorrect because it is irrelevant. The nutritionists' recommendations suggest that consuming whole milk might be better for you than consuming a nondairy coffee lightener made with coconut oil; however, this does not explain why the coffee lightener would cause the consumer's blood cholesterol to rise to a higher level than whole milk despite containing no cholesterol.
C is incorrect because it is irrelevant. This answer choice does not even discuss the nondairy coffee lightener so it cannot help us to resolve the paradox.
D is incorrect because it is irrelevant. Again, the paradox is caused by comparing nondairy coffee lighteners made with coconut oil and whole milk. Therefore, we do not care about nondairy coffee lighteners made without coconut oil.
E is incorrect because it does not impact the paradox. We know exactly how much saturated fat and cholesterol whole milk contains based on the information provided in the passage but this does not help us to resolve the paradox.
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
