Here’s What Placebos Can Heal—And What They Can’t
Illness is best cured with drugs. That assumption has prevailed since pharmaceuticals became widely available. But in recent years there has been a growing interest in alternative medicines, many of which employ mental or spiritual powers to heal the body. Now research into the biochemistry of placebos is showing that these remedies are not as wacky as they sound and that we are, indeed, capable of curing ourselves. In "Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal", Erik Vance applies the latest science to an exotic smorgasbord of alternative therapies, including acupuncture, hypnosis, and even witchcraft—many of which he tests on himself. Talking from his home in Mexico City, Vance, who trained as a biologist, explains why his childhood experience of Christian Science piqued his interest in the mind’s power over health, why placebos are particularly effective in treating Parkinson's disease, and why he asked a witch doctor in Mexico to put a curse on him. You were brought up in the Christian Science faith, which claims to be able to treat illness with prayer. Is there any proof that faith healing actually works? Wow, that’s tough! I was brought up in Christian Science, which, at its heart, believes that the world, including our bodies, is a reflection of our minds. So, if you change your mind, you can change your body. Growing up in Christian Science I saw a lot of healings, which piqued and sustained my interest in this subject. I saw people who claimed to be healed of cancer, or a guy who cut off his toe and the toe grew back. But my hope for this book is not to prove or disprove these things I saw as a child.
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on Nov 28 2016. Filed under Health, News From Roots.
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