Can placebo pill really cure your ailments?

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

Jo Marchant, author of the bestselling book Cure, explains why the mind’s ability to heal the body is now being taken seriously by scientists who question alternative medicine.

Why did you write this book?

We know that our thoughts and perceptions affect our physiology – in situations from stress to sexual arousal – but when it comes to whether these changes influence health, the question suddenly becomes much more controversial. You get claims of miracle cures at one extreme, while some sceptics argue that any role for the mind is deluded. I wanted to investigate the scientific research in this area to find out what the truth is.

What is the mechanism for how the mind influences health?

There are lots of mechanisms. Our mental state can be crucial in determining our experience of symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue and depression. Taking a placebo painkiller causes the release of pain-relieving endorphins in the brain, for example, whereas fake oxygen can reduce levels of neurotransmitters called prostaglandins, which dilate blood vessels and cause many of the symptoms of altitude sickness. When you experience a placebo response, it’s not imaginary or “all in the mind”: your symptoms are eased by physical changes just like those triggered by drugs. This is because warning signals such as pain are ultimately controlled by the brain. The experience of receiving medical care – whether real or fake – seems to reduce our symptoms.

Read full, original post: All in the mind? How research is proving the true healing power of the placebo

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