Placebo, Nocebo, & Why the Way Your Doctor Communicates Matters

Weekly Book Recommendation:

For thousands of years, the human race lived in harmony with the sun and used its heat and light as medicine. In recent history, however, with skin cancer on the rise, we have become too focused on the negative effects of the sun. Fortunately, science has made new discoveries showing just how beneficial the sun truly is to our lives.

The Healing Power of the Sun: A Comprehensive Guide to Sunlight as Medicine

Research Article of the Week:

“Long term exposure to increased levels of pro-oxidant factors can cause structural defects at a mitochondrial DNA level, as well as functional alteration of several enzymes and cellular structures leading to aberrations in gene expression.”

Lifestyle, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants: Back and Forth in the Pathophysiology of Chronic Diseases

---

The Placebo Effect

A placebo effect is anything that seems to be a "real" medical intervention -- but really is a sham. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of "fake" treatment. The term “placebo” comes from the Latin placere meaning to please.

For example, when a cream with no apparent medical properties is labeled as a painkiller, it reduces subjective reports of pain. When migraine patients believe that an inert pill is an active drug, it relieves reported pain from headaches.

Its use in clinical practice is common as it is estimated that approximately 40% of prescriptions function as a placebo, sometimes with the physician being aware of this and sometimes not.

Placebo research illustrates how positive expectations can transform substances with no active ingredients into meaningful health outcomes.