/oss/taxonomy/term/565/all en /oss/article/medical/placebos-are-harmless-right-not-always <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebos-are-harmless-right-not-always"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>My last column on the<a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebo-effect-is-real-and-complicated"> placebo effect</a> generated the same comment from two people. They suggested the next article should be on nocebos — that is, placebos that cause harm.</p> Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9768 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/placebo-effect-real-and-complicated <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-placebo-effect-is-real-and-complicated"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:11:09 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9755 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-history/legend-wartime-placebo <p>Facts rarely get in the way of a good story. There is a foundational myth in placebo research that has been repeated over and over again, sometimes with inexplicable flourishes, often with the variations one expects from a telephone game. You have probably read it in a mainstream publication. It’s the story of a doctor, working in dark times, who cannot do his job properly and accidentally discovers the power of the placebo to relieve pain. It is such a good story.</p> <p>And it might not even be true.</p> Sat, 12 Feb 2022 03:06:02 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9023 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-health/reassuring-data-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine <p>Pfizer and BioNTech’s RNA vaccine against COVID-19 has just been authorized by Health Canada. There will be many Internet whispers, half-truths and lies about how it works and how safe it is, so let’s delve into the recently released analysis of data from over 36,000 people who participated in the clinical trial.</p> Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:05:51 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8526 at /oss /oss/article/videos/right-chemistry-truth-about-spirulina <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-tsehruycx4y" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tSEHRUyCX4Y?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-tsehruycx4y&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 09 Nov 2018 19:39:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7447 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/can-we-use-eggshells-treat-osteoarthritis <hr /> <p>Si tu veux lire cet article en français, <a href="https://www.sciencepresse.qc.ca/actualite/detecteur-rumeurs/2018/10/24/non-toutes-etudes-ne-egales-coquilles-oeufs-arthrose">cliquez ici!</a></p> Thu, 17 May 2018 19:22:20 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7095 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/oprah-president <p><span>The U.S. is abuzz with chatter about Oprah for President. She makes a thoughtful, rousing, captivating speech at the Golden Globe Awards and people are ready to usher her into the Oval Office. But let’s not fling that door open quite yet, not before taking a look at the candidate’s ability to exercise sound judgement. Although there are several instances I could point out where Oprah’s judgement was suspect, her having devoted a program to the antics of “John of God” is particularly troublesome.</span></p> Thu, 11 Jan 2018 18:48:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6880 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-trotter-public-science-symposium/laughter-best-medicine <p>“Laughter is the best medicine!” That’s an old adage, maybe even dating back to the biblical era. The book of Proverbs in the Old Testament proposes that “a  merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” An intriguing concept! Is there any science behind it? It seems there is. The body and the mind are connected. And that is just what we are going to explore in this year’s “Trottier Public Science Symposium” with speakers Drs. Marla Shapiro, Amir Raz and Patch Adams. Let’s get you started with a little laughter right here.</p> Thu, 19 Oct 2017 15:39:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 5925 at /oss /oss/article/quackery-trotter-public-science-symposium/get-ready-trottier-public-science-symposium <p>When John Milton wrote in Paradise Lost that the mind can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven, without realizing it, he was talking about the “placebo” and the “nocebo” effect. “Placebo” comes from the Latin “I will please” and refers to a situation whereby a beneficial effect on the body comes about as a result of mental activity. The classic example is relief of pain from a sugar pill when the patient believes that a real medication has been administered.</p> Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:44:44 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 5358 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-toxicity-you-asked/you-asked-can-kombucha-tea-prevent-flu <p>While some people are looking to stockpile Tamiflu in case the bird flu strikes, a few others are placing their bets on a foul concoction with a folkloric history of curing everything from AIDS and baldness to flatulence and cancer. Kombucha tea is brewed by incubating a culture of bacteria and yeasts in sweetened black or green tea. The microbial culture, which is passed from believer to believer, ends up floating on top of the tea and resembles a mushroom, which is why sometimes the concoction is referred to as the Kombucha mushroom.</p> Wed, 29 Jan 2014 04:41:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2080 at /oss /oss/article/health-supplements-you-asked/you-asked-does-glucosamine-really-work <p>Osteoarthritis is a painful condition associated with the deterioration of cartilage, the flexible connective tissue that cushions the joints between bones.  When cartilage wears away, bone painfully rubs on bone.  The idea of using glucosamine to treat osteoarthritis stems from the observation that glucosamine formed naturally in the body is the precursor for the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans, major components of cartilage.  Perhaps supplementing the body’s supply of glucosamine would help repair cartilage, the thinking went.  But thinking, even if scientifically rational, is not evid</p> Sun, 22 Dec 2013 18:04:59 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2051 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-news/chinese-restaurant-syndrome <p>Sometimes beliefs are converted into fact just by repetition. We constantly hear of people who want to avoid monosodium glutamate because of a fear of being struck by “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” Restaurants have taken to posting signs declaring “No MSG added” to pacify their customers. This in spite of the fact that numerous controlled double blind studies have failed to show the existence of the so-called Chinese Restaurant Sydrome. Let me give you a typical example.</p> Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:54:02 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2072 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-supplements/vitamin-d-supplements-question <p>Study after study has shown that vitamin supplements do not offer any benefits over a well-balanced diet. In certain cases they may even be detrimental to health. In 1994, the National Cancer Institute, showed, after studying 29,000 Finnish men, all long-term smokers, that those receiving beta carotene supplements had an 18% increased risk of developing lung cancer. Two years later another study in the U.S. involving 18,000 subjects at risk indicated that those taking vitamin A and beta carotene had a 28% increased risk of developing lung cancer.</p> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:23:56 +0000 Ariel Fenster PhD 2079 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/women-worried-about-using-estrogen-menopausal-symptoms-are-resorting-various-alternative-therapies <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5168"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/05/black-cohosh-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Black cohosh. This plant native to North America has traditionally been used to treat menopausal symptoms with mostly anecdotal evidence for efficacy. Dr. Katherine Newton of the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle decided to put black cohosh to a scientific test and enlisted 351 menopausal women between the ages of 45-55 who experienced at least two hot flashes a night. The women were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: 160 milligrams of black cohosh daily; a multi-botanical supplement containing 200 milligrams black cohosh and 9 other herbal ingredients including alfalfa, pomegranate and Siberian ginseng; a multi-botanical supplement plus increased soy consumption; hormone therapy; or placebo capsules. After 3, 6, and 12 months, black cohosh was no better than placebo in reducing the frequency or severity of hot flashes or night sweats. The same was true for the other herbal products. Women who were given hormone therapy had significantly fewer hot flashes and night sweats than women given placebo. Another issue with black cohosh is its potential to interfere with the effectiveness of drugs used in cancer therapy. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/05/06/women-worried-about-using-estrogen-for-menopausal-symptoms-are-resorting-to-various-alternative-therapies-what-popular-treatment-has-recently-been-shown-to-be-ineffective">Read more</a></p> Mon, 06 May 2013 21:40:06 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1930 at /oss /oss/article/history-news-quirky-science/power-imagination <p>Apparently, stores in Poland once ran out of red underwear because a study that showed girls wearing the red under garment did better on their high school exams that those who favoured other colours. Now I don’t know if such a study really exists, or whether it is an urban legend, but it doesn’t matter. If students believe that such a study was done and saw the results, then they will likely benefit from wearing red underwear.</p> Wed, 30 May 2012 18:19:32 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1701 at /oss