Expensive placebos more effective than cheap ones
It turns out that the price of a sugar pill may affect how well it performs on pain. Most people don't go shopping for placebo medication, but this new study does suggest one interesting conclusion. The perception of your meds being expensive treatments or "discount" pills will affect how your body reacts to the medication.The placebo effect is an amazing thing to study. But who would have thought price would come into play as well? One reason researchers think this has such a profound result is that our bodies produce natural painkillers anyway. Apparently if we believe we're getting a better product, then we'll respond that way!
In fact, a Duke University clinical professor says it can help upwards of 50 percent for some people! This is in regards to migraines, but it's amazing to think we can materialize our own recovery like that. So should you be ditching discount drugs altogether? Obviously it's a matter of perspective, but real drugs are drugs. So listen to your doctor because in the end medical professionals will point you in the right direction.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2008 @ 3:26PM
Chris said...
I think this is illustrated nicely by the recent Airborne fiasco. Wouldn't you agree Adams?
$6 for a tube of fizzy goodness that does nothing but make you think it will ward off the bugs. What a scam.
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3-12-2008 @ 8:46PM
Eda Simonetti said...
The results of a 2 year controlled medical study from Finland released this year showed that glucosomine was no more effective that a placebo for arthritis relief! Imagine the money you would save as the placebo was much cheaper to produce. I have severe arthritis & have never found joy with glucosomine medications so it is good that scientists now support my own experience. I have found through lots of research the most effective arthritis treatments are far infrared therapy garments and health gloves for arthritic joint pain. If you want to read more info you can see http://www.thermomedic.com and http://www.healthgloves.com .I know my brother who suffered joint injury following an accident some years ago was using glucosomine and found no improvement at all. He tried some of the most expensive brands hoping they would be better but was just wasting his money. He should have been buying sugar pills!!
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