Just a few days into social distancing as a mom of a two-year-old and the meltdown was pretty epic. Embarrassingly, the meltdown was all mine and not my daughter’s. After a pretty successful weekend of staying busy at home, today was the first workday and I lost it. Some moms get mad and yell—not me, […]
In recent decades the medical community has embraced the use of supplements as a part of a normal, functioning health routine. In fact, up to 86% of American adults now take supplements and one survey showed that 25% did so because test results showed a specific deficiency—a clear example of how patients are increasingly willing […]
Written by Jenny Leyh—mother, freelance writer, cancer survivor, and integrative health advocate living in Haddon Heights, New Jersey Confidence in your medical care is critical to your health. Ideally, you have a strong relationship with your doctor, one in which you feel comfortable opening up to them about your physical health as well as the […]
Last week our team was proud to publish a blog post from the perspective of physicians, offering an inside look at how medical providers harness the power of placebo and amplify it with seven simple but very effective ways. After witnessing such a tremendous reaction from patients and providers alike, we decided we should share […]
Modern medicine, which is so powerful in treating acute disease, is missing nearly 80 percent of what contributes to healing for patients with complex, multi-factorial, chronic disease. Drugs do not heal these patients. The inherent healing capacity in each of us will produce most of their healing. But can providers and patients alike work together […]
As we’ve discussed the placebo response the past couple weeks—and how physicians can harness that power in their manner and behaviors—it is important to recognize the immense impact that cultural context can have on our healing process. The following excerpt is from my book, How Healing Works, and provides my experience in understanding just how […]
Let’s be clear: an inert treatment cannot cause a biological response. Sugar pills and fake needles or sham surgeries do not heal. Healing comes from the meaning and the context in which these various treatments get deployed. Thus, a “response” to a placebo alone, as the term is most commonly used, is impossible. The so-called […]
Few terms have been more misused and caused more confusion than placebo and the placebo effect. Placebo is most commonly defined as an inert substance such as a sugar pill or an injection of salt-water or a fake treatment used in medicine. But there is another definition of placebo that is more useful in practice: […]
It’s official. The US News and World Report have, yet again, ranked the Mediterranean diet as #1–not only for “best overall diet” for 2020 but in several subcategories including “best diet for healthy eating”, “best plant-based diet”, “best diabetes diet” and “easiest diet to follow.” In rounding out our theme of successful aging for women […]
As we discussed earlier this month, one of the defining factors of aging successfully is the ability to remain physically active later in life. Being able to engage in day-to-day activities and various social gatherings sets a very clear standard of health required to have the physical independence so many women desire in their later […]
