Nutrition
Do healthy diets just work thanks to placebo?
Mineral needs of plants and placebo effect
Copyright © 2016 Healing Cancer Naturally
By Gene (formerly at EternalFreedom.com)
... if my information is correct, a placebo effect generally is relatively short-lived and 'wears off' as the user 'forgets' and the mind-induced benefits are replaced by reality-based body needs. There is no question that the mind has a monumental effect on one’s body and in many cases can override the actual situation, at least temporarily.
Here is an observation based on my own experience that shows the importance of mineral nutrients in our body. When I received my chemistry degree (so many years ago) my first job after graduation was at the Riverside Citrus Experiment Station (part of the University of California). My duties at that time were to monitor (by chemical analysis, etc.) a study on "The Effects of Trace Minerals on Plants".
At this facility, they had literally hundreds of greenhouses in which the air, water, temperature, humidity etc. were carefully controlled and monitored. The various plants under study were planted in sterile sand and were 'fed' through a 'solution' that contained every element known in concentrations approximating sea water (without NaCl {salt}). The plant growth and the 'health of plants' in the control green houses was phenomenal. This method of plant growing is referred to as "hydroponics".
At this facility, they had a large water de-ionizing unit in which all mineral elements were removed (less than parts per billion of each) resulting in incredibly pure water. Solutions were made up from this water source by adding pure mineral compounds. In this way they could have solutions where the mineral contents could be altered and certain elements eliminated.
For example a solution could be made up that duplicates sea water without zinc. The results of this experimental deficiency could be monitored and studied. In almost every case the elimination of any element had a significant impact on the health, size and shape of the plants being studied. (Too much of any element also caused problems too.)
The point of this story is that I don't think that a plant is prone to the placebo effect. And if plants are influenced by deficiencies in their diet, it follows that our bodies require those elements also.
Note by Healing Cancer Naturally
The above conclusion seems to make perfect sense, and many observations concerning the effect of diet — perhaps most dramatically seen in the correlation between nutrition and dental health — corroborate the immediate influence of ingested materials (or the lack thereof) on human and animal health.
Nevertheless, the power of the human mind (as stated in Gene’s introductory paragraph) sometimes seems greater than any “physical” influence or factor and learning to harness this power may be one of the most important skills to acquire for cancer patients and others on a physical, emotional and/or spiritual healing quest. See Healing Cancer & Your Mind for tools and astounding healing testimonials testifying to the awesome healing potential of “mind over matter”.
Read about placebo effect in cancer and other illness in On the Power of Belief (Placebo Effect) to heal or to kill and The Nocebo Effect: Placebo's Evil Twin: “Think sick, be sick.”
Is there a cure for cancer? After 20 years of research |
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