"one theory blamed the problem on the american diet, and specifically on cholesterol. after all, cholesterol is one component of the plaque that clogs arteries and causes heart attacks.""ahrens complained that the guidelines treated the population "a homogeneous group of rats while ignoring the wide variation in individual diet and blood chemistry."the author suggests that concluding the diet is responsible for heart disease would be: a. mistaking correlation for causationb. failing to consider additional causes

The answer is letter B, failing to consider additional causes.

Explanation:

In order to know more about the answer, let's learn about "heart attack" and "cholesterol."

Heart Attack- This is medically known as "Myocardial Infarction." This occurs when an artery supplying oxygen to the heart becomes blocked or clogged. The blockage is caused by blood clots formed from fatty deposits that build up over time.

Cholesterol- This is a waxy substance that is found in the blood. The body naturally needs cholesterol to function normally, but high levels of cholesterol can increase the risk of having heart disease such as heart attack.

The answer in the above statement is letter B because it only considered "cholesterol" alone in American diet as the cause of heart attacks. It failed to consider additional causes such as every person's diet nor blood chemistry. The blood chemistry of a person may also be related to having a heart attack. For example, a high level of Troponin T (protein) in the heart muscle helps detect a person's likelihood to having a heart attack.  This elevated Troponin level is not related to diet alone. It can be caused by sepsis, chemotherapy, kidney failure, pulmonary embolism, heart infection, etc. These are the additional causes.