Updated on 15. November 2021 from ÁYIO-Q Redaktion
Reading time: approx. 5 minutes
Most naturopathic treatment successes are nothing but placebo effects. Which naturopathic doctor and alternative practitioner does not know statements like these from classically trained medical practitioners? What is meant by this is that subtle methods such as homeopathy, acupuncture, bioresonance therapy and kinesiology supposedly do not produce any objectively verifiable effects.1
In fact, patients would only imagine that the therapy would be successful. Because of this, the effects only lasted for a short amount of time. Even if the claim was true, this fact would be a sensation from the perspective of conventional medicine. Conversely, this means that people can be freed from pain, allergies and other ailments simply by believing in a healing act.
Where do the terms nocebo and placebo effect come from?
In medicine, the terms placebo and science are closely related. “Scientifically proven” means nothing more than the review of a drug using a randomised, placebo-controlled double-blind study. What does that mean? The largest possible number of participants is recruited for each research project, only half of whom are taking the drug.
The rest are given an identical-looking tablet or capsule, but which does not contain any active ingredient (placebo). Neither the attending physician nor the study participants know whether someone is using a drug or a placebo. The placebo group serves as a control to determine the effectiveness of the drug.
From the point of view of conventional medicine, the positive influence of the placebo represents a kind of background noise that has to be subtracted from the drug’s effect. What is the difference between placebo and nocebo? While the placebo effect improves symptoms, the nocebo effect worsens the health situation of those affected. 2
The human mind influences the development of diseases
Doctors know the following dilemma: after they have informed patients about possible side effects of a treatment, quite a few people experience precisely these symptoms a short time later. In a study from 2009, a Swiss scientist showed that evidence of erectile dysfunction as a side effect of the beta blocker metoprolol quadrupled its incidence from 8 to 32 percent. 3
A nocebo phenomenon like this surprises the doctor and philosopher Dr. Ronald Grossarth-Maticek not at all. As part of his health research (Heidelberg Prospective Study), he found amazing results. Dr. Grossarth-Maticek and his colleagues observed several thousand healthy men and women over several decades. The scientists discovered that unmet needs as well as the feeling of meaninglessness and lack of alternatives in life play a major role in the development and course of serious, chronic diseases. 4
Those who recognise meaning in their existence, are satisfied and achieve their goals therefore have the best prerequisites for staying healthy into old age. Psychoneuroimmunology comes to similar results. This new area of medicine examines how the human psyche influences the nervous and immune systems. 5
Wim Hof and the control of the autonomic nervous system
The Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, who is nicknamed The Iceman, has been making a name for himself for years by breaking incredible records. Amongst other things, he holds the world record for the longest ice bath. In 2011, Hof was up to his neck in a container of ice water for almost two hours. Two years earlier he had already taken part in a marathon in Finland, wearing only shorts and sandals at minus 20 degrees. 6
Why does a person survive extreme cold for so long? To answer this question, Wim Hof underwent several examinations. One remark in advance: The extreme athlete does not carry out his record attempts without preparation, but consistently applies the Wim-Hof-Method developed by him.
It consists of a special breathing technique, getting used to the cold and your own willpower. In the course of several studies, researchers found that Hof can consciously influence its autonomous (vegetative) nervous system and thus the regulation of the body’s heat balance. 7
This groundbreaking discovery refutes a central dogma of biology, which says: Our autonomous nervous system is beyond the control of our will. 8
Quantum physics provides answers to placebo and nocebo effects
An explanation for the Wim-Hof-Method and phenomena like the nocebo and placebo effect is provided by the quantum physicist Prof. Dr. Thomas Görnitz. Through sensory impressions, thoughts and feelings, quantum information is created in our mind, which affects the brain and the rest of the organism. It doesn’t matter whether something actually happens or just comes from your own imagination. The effect of the human mind on the body is completely identical in both cases. 9
Related articles: Nocebo & Placebo
Placebo and Nocebo – How our mind influences the Self-Healing-Power
Sources:
[1] So ein Schmarrn! Das Feinstoffliche: Ein Standardbegriff der Esoterik zur Rechtfertigung unwissenschaftlicher Pseudotheorien, at https://www.derstandard.at, Access date 15.05.2021
[2] Weimer K et al. Editorial: Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Psychiatry and Beyond – Front Psychiatry. 2020 Aug;11:801.
[3] Baethge C. Nocebo: Die dunkle Seite der menschlichen Einbildungskraft, Dtsch Arztebl 2013;110(41): A-1904 / B-1681 / C-1648.
[4] Wo das Dogma beginnt, ist das Leben am Ende, at https://www.brandeins.de, Access date 15.05.2021
[5] Acidic and alkaline nutrition in the light of quantum medicine , at https://fundus.ayio-q.com, Access date 15.05.2021
[6] Wim Hof, auf https://de.wikipedia.org, Access date 15.05.2021
[7] Muzik O et al. Brain over body”-A study on the willful regulation of autonomic function during cold exposure – Neuroimage. 2018 May;172:632-641.
[8] Wie funktioniert das Nervensystem?, auf https://www.gesundheitsinformation.de, Access date 15.05.2021
[9] Görnitz T, Görnitz B. Von der Quantenphysik zum Bewusstsein. Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016.
