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The Conversation USA

Placebo effect can work as well as real medicine – but your body may need permission to use it

  • Written by Phil Starks, Associate Professor of Biology, Tufts University
imageFrom empty pills to homeopathy to sham surgery, placebos have powerful effects on the body.Irina Marwan/Moment via Getty Images

The first time the placebo effect really got under my skin was when I read that roughly one-third of people with irritable bowel syndrome improve on placebo treatments alone. Usually this statistic is presented as a...

Read more: Placebo effect can work as well as real medicine – but your body may need permission to use it

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