A fascinating twelve-month experiment reported in the Archives of
General Psychiatry reveals the power of mind/body medicine and the
placebo effect. In the experiment, Parkinson's disease patients
underwent a surgical procedure that transplanted human neurons into
their brains. But half the patients had no neurons transplanted
whatsoever and were merely
told by their doctor that the
neurons had been transplanted. The result? Even those patients who
received the sham operation
showed significant improvements in brain
and body function a full twelve months later. In other words, they
didn't even have the
surgery, but they thought they did. So their bodies
responded and self
healing kicked in.
This is yet one more study
demonstrating the powerful healing ability of the human mind. The mind
can overcome or create practically any disease. All this reminds me of
an older study where a group of students who were allergic to poison ivy
were told they were going to have their arms rubbed with it. When
rubbed, more than 80% of the students' arms reacted with the classic
symptoms of poison ivy: itching, boils, redness, etc. Yet the plant that
was used for the study wasn't poison ivy at all! It was a harmless
shrub. The students' minds were creating the biological effects of
poison ivy on their own, even though no such plant had touched
their skin.
Now here's the bigger story on all this: mind/body
medicine is real. A proper patient belief system can overcome
practically any disease. Yet modern medicine utterly dismisses the idea
that mind/body medicine can work at all. The "placebo effect" is too
often discarded rather than exploited. If doctors could use the leverage
of the placebo effect and actually give their patients hope, together
they could overcome almost any illness. But instead, too many doctors
and surgeons destroy patients' belief in the placebo effect and fill
their minds with frightening statistics like, "You only have a one in
three chance of surviving this operation." That's horrifying to
patients, and as it turns out, it actually increases the chance that the
patient will die during the operation.
If you take a hard
look at the tens of thousands of clinical trials involving prescription
drugs, surgical procedures, and various forms of therapy carried out
over the last hundred years, you'll find that no drug and no surgery
comes even close to the power of the placebo. In a very matter-of-fact,
scientific way, the placebo effect has been proven to be the single
most effective healing tool anywhere. The studies prove it: the
placebo effect cures approximately 30% of everything -- any disease, any
illness, or any unwanted symptom. It does this at no cost, with no side
effects, and primarily by leveraging the innate healing ability of the
human mind. Amazingly, even while the proof of this is right under their
noses, western doctors and surgeons somehow manage to dismiss the
phenomenon as hocus pocus. They don't believe it because they don't
understand it, not because there isn't a mountain of good science to
back it up (because there is!).
All this brings us to an even larger
picture: modern medicine really isn't about good science as is amusingly
insisted by its captains. Rather, modern (western) medicine is a
dogmatic system of beliefs and so-called "scientific truths" that are
based more on shared professional illusions than reality. Modern
medicine can, in fact, be properly described as a system of mass
hysteria where things are accepted as true just because enough people
say they are. Like all such systems, this one is aggressively defended:
when evidence surfaces that challenges the present dogma, the medical
journals, researchers and doctors dismiss it all as mumbo jumbo. That's
how they protect the existing dogma of western medicine: throw out all
the evidence that contradicts what "they know to be true" and publish
all the evidence that agrees with it.
In a sad but very real way,
the science of medicine only advances when the holders of the so-called
"truths" of medicine pass away. Only then is there room for new beliefs,
from new, younger doctors who ask new questions. I'm talking about
questions like, "Hey, if the placebo effect helps 30% of all patients
with no side effects and zero cost, why don't we look into actually
using it to help people heal?" That's a reasonable question, don't you
think? But it's probably blasphemy to your doctor. The very idea that
the mind should play a role in healing probably goes against their
religion.
Thankfully, we're starting to see the trend shift.
With new studies being undertaken like the one mentioned here, we move
closer to a system of medicine that finally acknowledges the
all-important role of the mind of the patient. Truly, no healing is
possible unless the mind and belief systems of the patient are aligned
with the goal of a positive health outcome. All the prescription drugs
and surgery in the world can't overcome even one simple belief firmly
held in the mind of a patient. Neither can any disease resist the
healing potential of that same mind. It's time we start honoring the
human mind as the ultimate tool of healing.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created NaturalNews.TV, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, June 10, 2004
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