They establish that the doctor's concerns about the healthfulness of the beverage were well founded. They suggest that the beverage was not the only cause of the ineffectiveness of the prescribed dosage. They rule out the possibility that the doctor had initially prescribed the wrong medication for the patient's ailments. They make it less plausible that the beverage actually contributed to the ineffectiveness of the prescribed medication.
When a patient failed to respond to prescribed medication, the doctor hypothesized that the dosage was insufficient. The doctor first advised doubling the dosage, but the patient' s symptoms remained. It was then learned that the patient regularly drank an herbal beverage that often inhibits the medication' s effect. The doctor then advised the patient to resume the initial dosage and stop drinking the beverage. The patient complied, but still showed no change. Finally, the doctor advised the patient to double the dosage and not drink the beverage. The patient' s symptoms disappeared. Hence, the doctor' s initial hypothesis was correct.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the manner in which the doctor's second set of recommendations and the results of its application support the doctor's initial hypothesis?