For anyone not a regular at badscience.net who is remotely interested in the "power" of placebo, give this a listen;
http://www.bbc.co.uk//radio4/science/placebo.shtml
I can't help but think of CAM in terms of "The Matrix" - that to pull the plug on those people getting feelgood/feelbetter benefits from altmed would be unfair - that perhaps medicine needs an ethical placebo to outcompete CAM. Ethically of course, it's tough as hell.
The programme also goes into the physiological benefits that can occur as a result of placebo "treatments" - e.g. heart rate. I hadn't really considered that there was any measurable benefit to what is essentially suggestion/distraction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk//radio4/science/placebo.shtml
I can't help but think of CAM in terms of "The Matrix" - that to pull the plug on those people getting feelgood/feelbetter benefits from altmed would be unfair - that perhaps medicine needs an ethical placebo to outcompete CAM. Ethically of course, it's tough as hell.
The programme also goes into the physiological benefits that can occur as a result of placebo "treatments" - e.g. heart rate. I hadn't really considered that there was any measurable benefit to what is essentially suggestion/distraction.