Dr Mehmet Oz
American media personality and health show host, Dr Oz, is a health myth-buster. My guest poster today, Eric Nelson, media spokesperson for Christian Science in Northern California, sets him the task of coming up with a whole new list of health myths to debunk, based on an increased understanding of the mind/body connection.
As it turns out, a lot of the things we believed were true about our health aren’t really true after all. Just ask Dr Oz.
The renowned surgeon, author, Oprah alum, and talk show host confirms in a recent article that, lo and behold, fat weighs the same as muscle (although it does take up more space), eating late at night doesn’t necessarily make you gain weight, and pasta, eggs, and frozen fruits and veggies aren’t all that bad after all.
Phew!
Although it’s unlikely that I’ll be snacking on a frozen asparagus and cheese omelet before heading off to bed tonight, it’s nice to know that if I did, it wouldn’t kill me.
As comprehensive as the Oz list may be, there’s another myth that health experts the world over have been busting lately: the idea that, in terms of health care, whatever works for one works for all.
Of course, there are all sorts of variables you have to consider when figuring out how to treat a particular ailment, and not just the ailment itself. One of the most intriguing is the thought of the patient.
This wasn’t always the case. Back in the latter part of the 19th century, illness and health were considered purely physical in nature, with the body operating essentially like a piece of machinery. Another hundred years would pass before physicians started noticing the role of emotions and feelings in how the body functioned. These days, things are getting even more interesting as consciousness itself is playing an increasing if not exclusive role in how we manage our health.
Perhaps the most well known if still largely unexplained indicator of this fact is the placebo effect. By most accounts, if you’re given a sugar pill in place of a prescription drug, there’s a 30% chance that your health will improve. Studies show, however, that it helps if the person administering the pill is wearing a white coat, implying that it’s not just your faith in the perceived drug but also in the one who is administering the drug.
If being tricked into better health isn’t your thing, there are other thought-based approaches to influencing the body in positive, health-inducing ways such as meditation and prayer. These methods put the patient squarely in the driver seat – a prospect that can be at once intimidating and exhilarating.
My hunch is that as we continue to explore this relationship between the mind and body, we’ll see even more myths about health being busted, and Dr Oz will likely have to come up with a whole new list.
This article was originally published on Blogcritics. It also appears on PaloAltoPatch and BayCitzen.
Filed under: Christian Science, Health care Tagged: Dr Oz, health myths, meditation, mind/body connection, placebo, Prayer, Spirituality
