Ep. #610: Kurtis Frank on the Surprising Truth About the Placebo Effect

2020-08-13

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What if I told you that with one pill, you could boost your energy levels, supercharge your strength, and even melt away mental and physical pain and discomfort? And what if this pill could do those things naturally and safely? And what if I even told you that it’s just a sugar pill, but so long as you truly believe in its ability to work, it will? If that sounds like science fiction, I understand, but the underlying mechanism is actually science fact, and it’s called the placebo effect. Many people hav...

What if I told you that with one pill, you could boost your energy levels, supercharge your strength, and even melt away mental and physical pain and discomfort?

And what if this pill could do those things naturally and safely?

And what if I even told you that it’s just a sugar pill, but so long as you truly believe in its ability to work, it will?

If that sounds like science fiction, I understand, but the underlying mechanism is actually science fact, and it’s called the placebo effect.

Many people have heard of the placebo effect, but it’s much deeper than many people realize, filled with quite a few surprising and interesting aspects.

That’s why I invited Kurtis Frank back onto the podcast to give us a little lesson on the placebo effect, including ...

The most surprising effects of placebo and how it works
How the placebo effect can improve your workouts
How resilient is the placebo effect and does it wear off?
Why it's important to have researchers blinded from the placebo in experiments
Why you shouldn’t seek out the placebo effect
How placebo relates to homeopathy, chiropractic, and acupuncture

Oh and in case you’re not familiar with Kurtis, he’s the co-founder and former lead researcher and writer of Examine.com, as well as the Director of Research for my sports nutrition company, Legion, which means he’s responsible for improving existing formulations and creating new ones.

So if you want a basic overview on what the placebo effect is and why it’s important, listen to this episode!

6:11 - What is the placebo effect?

6:46 - What are some examples of the placebo effect?

10:43 - What are examples of nocebo that are documented in literature?

18:58 - How does the placebo effect work if you are already aware of it?

21:40 - What are some other examples of the placebo effect that could help you with workouts?

26:08 - How durable is the placebo effect?

27:07 - Do you have any anecdotes for the placebo effect?

28:12 - What are your thoughts on medication and the placebo effect?

31:31 - Does not notifying the doctor of the placebo medication eliminate the chances of the placebo effect not working?

39:37 - Is homeopathy a placebo effect?

54:58 - How does placebo affect acupuncture?