I noticed an article about the placebo effect in New Scientist recently. Today I found an article about the phenomenon in the Guardian and apparently there’s been a programme about it on BBC Radio 4 as well.

Four weeks later the researchers measured everything again. The group who had been tutored about the health benefits of their work now perceived that they did more exercise than before - unsurprisingly - while the group who were left alone didn’t change. Neither group had changed their actual levels of activity.But amazingly, despite no change in actual exercise levels, in the intervention group, simply being told about the value of what they were already doing caused a significant change for the better on every single one of the objective health measures recorded: weight, body fat, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and blood pressure.

Read the rest here: Healthy mind, healthy body

Here’s a blog post with links so that you can listen to the show online. My Placebo programme on BBC Radio4

Scientists are exploring the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD to treat a range of ailments from depression to cluster headaches and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Interesting to see the mainstream research into hallucinogenic drugs starting again. LSD is said to be really useful for treating depression and alcoholism. I’d always prefer to go down a route that uses our bodies own capacity to create feel good substances (endorphins etc.) but don’t think it should be illegal for people to alter their consciousness in any way they want to.

It’s always funny to see people relying so much on substances to change their mood. For example caffeine and alcohol in the combination of Vodka – RedBull (RedBull is a brand of ‘energy’ drink based on
sugar and caffeine amongst other things).

It’s a popular drink in clubs and pubs. I guess the alcohol is there to lower your inhibitions and the caffeine and sugar to get you to feel energised and happy.

In my opinion the same effect can be reached by jumping up and down for a couple of seconds or dancing. And that’s usually how I do it when I go out.

Read the article at the Guardian: Clinical trials test potential of hallucinogenic drugs to help patients with terminal illnesses