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Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, Mind-body medicine -- if that sounds frivolous to you, it shouldn’t. Research has verified the strong connection between your beliefs about medical treatments and how well they work -- and this is information that you can use to improve your outcome no matter what condition you may have. Harvard professor Richard L. Kradin, MD, author of The Placebo Response and the Power of Unconscious Healing, explains how to do this -- and also shares surprising information on how your doctor’s personality can shape your healing response as well. How much attention do you pay to the health of your knives? Seriously -- hone your sharpening skills with these tips from Michael J. Moran, head chef instructor at Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, to give yourself an edge in the kitchen! All the best,  Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com  Erase Tumors in 2 Months How to Harness the Power of the Placebo Richard L. Kradin, MD Massachusetts General Hospital Researchers at several American institutions recently reported that half of 679 American doctors who had been surveyed said they regularly prescribed placebos to their patients. This news came as a shock to many people -- and raised serious ethical questions. Everyone knows what placebos are -- “sugar pills” or “dummy pills” that masquerade as medication. But is it that simple? There’s a lot more to the question than meets the eye, according to Richard L. Kradin, MD, one of the country’s foremost experts on the use of placebo treatments. To learn more, Bottom Line/Health recently spoke with him...
Certain memories are probably involved. For example, children are usually soothed by their parents. Their mothers kiss minor hurts to make them better. They are given pills and told the medicine will make them well. When adults are sick and receive care from someone who’s supposed to help them, the situation can reawaken this capacity to be soothed. After a visit to the doctor, some people report that they feel better right away.
Placebos seem best able to restore well-being when problems are minor, such as a headache or stomachache. It’s important to remember that the placebo response isn’t necessarily separate from real therapeutic responses brought about by effective treatment, but part of them. If you take a drug that works, the placebo response may make it work better. Many of the factors involved in the placebo response have been scientifically confirmed in a number of studies on the topic.
Trust and expectation increase the chance of a positive response. If you believe that a drug or treatment is likely to help you, the odds are that it will work as a placebo. If the doctor or other caregiver conveys a sense of competence and authority, and the visit to the doctor’s office promotes relaxation and trust, these factors also seem to elicit the placebo response. The doctor’s ability to listen and make patients feel that they’re understood is important. If the doctor doesn’t convey his/her own belief that the intervention will work, the chances are good that it won’t work.
Here, too, expectation plays a role. Nocebo effects commonly occur after a patient reads the drug package insert that lists, often in alarming detail, a medication’s potential side effects. The health-care provider can elicit the nocebo response, too. People sometimes leave the office of a brusque, uncaring doctor feeling much worse, and getting little benefit from the medication the doctor prescribed. If a caregiver expresses too many doubts about the treatment, patients detect that as well.
By the same token, when I talk in detail with a patient about a particular drug’s potential side effects, as mandated by law, I can see fear well up in his face. Is that the role of a healer? I’m not so sure.
Know yourself. If you leave a treatment situation feeling doubtful and not reassured, you’re probably in the wrong place.
You should be a working partner in your treatment and have some idea of what’s going on. But when people start involving themselves in the fine details, it tends to have a disturbing effect on mind-body processes -- either resulting in a nocebo response or limiting the advantages of the placebo response. Bottom Line/Health interviewed Richard L. Kradin, MD, a pulmonologist, internist, anatomic pathologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston. He has written more than 150 medical articles and serves as codirector of Harvard Medical School’s postgraduate study on Mind/Body Science. Dr. Kradin is the author of The Placebo Response and the Power of Unconscious Healing (Routledge).  A Master Chef's Simple Secret to Sharpening Knives Michael J. Moran Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management You might think that a dull knife is less dangerous than a sharp knife. Not so, says Michael J. Moran, head chef instructor at Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He told our food reporter, Linda Gassenheimer, that a dull knife requires too much pressure to use and can slip rather than cut. Here is the best way to sharpen knives... SHARPENING The simplest way to sharpen a knife that has a smooth, nonserrated blade is to use a sharpening stone, available at Bed Bath & Beyond and other cooking-equipment stores. Average cost is $45. The easiest way to use the stone is to place a cutting board on a counter and put the stone on the board. (Put a wet dish towel under the stone to keep it from moving.) Drag the knife along the stone at a 22.5° angle (most new knives have a factory edge with a precise 22.5° angle), starting at the tip of the knife and ending at the handle. Do one side, then the other, for a total of 20 passes. A knife has a sharp edge when it easily can cut an onion or tomato without pressure. On average, a knife needs to be sharpened two to three times a year. This, however, depends on how often the knife is used and how it is handled. Alternative: The Chef’s Choice electric sharpener has guides that keep the knife at the proper angle. There are several different models, ranging from about $40 to $170. It is available at most kitchenware stores and online. To sharpen serrated knives: Sharpening a serrated knife is different from sharpening a straight knife. Each groove must be sharpened separately. There is a special small file for this purpose called a sharpening hone. It looks like a small screwdriver and is available online for $15 to $20. You may just want to replace a serrated knife whenever it seems dull or about every five years (unless your knife is a very good one). Some electric knife sharpeners, including some models of Chef’s Choice, sharpen serrated knives. KEEPING IT SHARP Before or after every use, draw the knife across a knife steel. This is a steel rod with a handle. It usually comes with a knife set, or you can buy one separately for about $15. Hold the knife at a 22.5° angle, and draw it against the steel about four to five times on each side. This hones the blade. If you look at a knife with a magnifying glass, you will see hundreds of microscopic teeth. Each time a knife is used, the teeth become crooked and honing the blade straightens them. It keeps the knife sharp and reduces the need to sharpen it. STORAGE Keep edges protected. If the knives are loose in a drawer, they may bump against one another or other utensils, which could dull or damage the knives. Store knives on a magnetic bar attached to a wall. They are readily available so that you can quickly select the one you need. A knife block is another good alternative. Make sure that the knives are dry and clean before placing them in the block -- otherwise, bacteria can develop. Wooden drawer inserts made for knives are also good. It is always best to hand-wash knives. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Michael J. Moran, head chef instructor at Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, North Miami, Florida. One of the many classes he teaches is kitchen management, which includes how to sharpen knives and how to carve. Chef Moran was the official chef to the King and Queen of Jordan. Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. 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What exactly is a placebo? It’s any type of therapeutic intervention -- for example, a fake or unproven medication, a sham surgical procedure or a talk with the doctor -- that, in and of itself, is judged to have no therapeutic capacity. When it works, the success is attributed to an activation of what’s called the “placebo response.” 
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