Placebo Pills, Cannabis, Wall Squats for Blood Pressure, Birdwatching, and the Porn brain : 1564

About this episode

Placebos Improved IBS Symptoms Even When Patients Knew the Pills Were Inactive In a randomized trial of 80 adults with irritable bowel syndrome, participants who knowingly took placebo pills reported greater symptom improvement than those receiving no treatment. After three weeks, 59% of the placebo group reported adequate relief compared with 35% of controls. A larger follow-up study also found that openly prescribed placebos improved reported IBS symptoms more than a no-pill control. Host Dave Asprey explores how conditioning, expectations, and the ritual of taking a treatment may influence symptoms without deception. He explains why these findings do not mean symptoms are imaginary or that positive thinking can cure disease, but raise questions about how the brain, treatment context, and learned physiological responses shape the experience of illness. Sources: • PLOS ONE: Placebos Without Deception—A Randomized Controlled Trial in Irritable Bowel Syndrome • Pain: Open-Label Placebo vs. Double-Blind Placebo for Irritable Bowel Syndrome • Harvard Health: A Placebo Can Work Even When You Know It’s a Placebo Once-Weekly Wall Squats Preserved Some Blood-Pressure Benefits After