Think, Eat, Be Healthy

The Placebo Effect And Healthy Diet

turmeric, turmeric root, curcumin

The bright yellow color of turmeric root comes from curcumin.

I had a very interesting exchange with a new customer at work a little while ago. A 100% gluten-free cafe serving a full menu based on real whole food, we have a lot of knowledgeable and health-conscious regulars and many others just looking for a good meal. This particular gentleman made a point of saying that it was his first time in, that he knew nothing about gluten-free eating and asked why anyone would eat this way.

Gluten intolerance and the major digestive and nutrition problems it causes was the first thing I brought to his attention. I went on to explain that many people who are not allergic to gluten also feel much better and healthier when they remove gluten from their diet. Noting that I, personally, noticed very little if any effects from eating gluten, I went on to say that I did eat much less gluten than I used to and felt better than ever.

turnip, purple top turnip, root vegetable, vegetable, whole food, healthy diet

Purple Top Turnips, part of a healthy whole food diet

He then asked how you could tell if you were allergic to gluten. I told him that what most people did for any kind of allergy was to eliminate that food from their diet for six to eight weeks and see if the symptoms go away or lessen, or if they just feel much better. Using myself as an example, I explained how I had stopped eating gluten for several months with no apparent effects and had then done the same with all dairy products with the same result. When I next stopped eating all highly refined and man-made foods(white flour and other highly processed grains, processed sugars, nitrate/nitrite cured meats, chemical preservatives and colors, etc…) I felt noticeably better after a few months.

His response was: “How do you know it is all not just the placebo effect?”

That question stopped me for a moment and made me think. What if it all was due to the placebo effect? So I ran through the general chain of events again in my mind: noticeable health symptoms severe enough to be impacting people’s lives but not easily attributable to a specific common disease or allergy; eliminating single foods or types of foods from the diet for several months to see if the symptoms lessen; having the symptoms go away, and not necessarily on the first or even the second try. I thought: “This could be the placebo effect but it seems unlikely. If it was the placebo effect it should always occur on the first attempt.”

Eating fresh whole fruits and vegetables is scientifically proven to be healthier than eating highly refined "foods".

Eating fresh whole fruits and vegetables is scientifically proven to be healthier than eating highly refined “foods”.

Then I had a small revelation. Even if it was all due to the placebo effect, what difference does that make. The placebo effect has been scientifically proven to be a real effect. People that think they are taking a pill to cure a cold but are actually taking a blank still recover from the cold faster than people that take nothing. Many expensive prescription drugs, especially psychiatric drugs, barely outperform the placebo effect in test trials but are allowed for sale anyway. Many powerful anti-inflammatory medications prescribed for arthritis perform no better than eating small daily amounts of ginger, turmeric, garlic and other highly anti-inflammatory foods. And the whole foods have none of the nasty side effects of the drugs, such as increased risk of heart attack and stroke, internal bleeding and disruption of the body’s hormonal system.

Many studies have shown the effectiveness of changing the diet in order to lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, to control the early stages of diabetes, to lower high blood pressure and to lessen the risk of heart disease. A fairly large percentage of these studies were simple long term surveys of people’s eating habits with no dietary advice given and the rest were trials to test the effectiveness of certain diets on health conditions. It is very improbable that the placebo effect could be so consistent, especially with people not consciously trying to improve their health or relieve symptoms.

nut, tree nut, walnut

Eat a wide variety of whole foods and don’t worry about the placebo effect.

But again, what difference does it make? If health improves and symptoms disappear, does it really matter if it is caused by diet or because we think it should be caused by diet? My gut feeling is that eating a whole food based diet does produce a healthier body and mind and there is little to no placebo effect involved.