Mind and Muscle - The Supplement Placebo Effect - Is it the Supplement, Or Your Mind Working?

Back during World War II, the medics and hospitals would often run out of painkillers and would give their patients the latest and greatest painkiller, peace of mind.

Sometimes they would inject the soldiers with what they were told to be morphine, but was actually a healthy dose of saline solution, or saltwater. The good news is that, when injected with the "morphine," most of the soldiers' pain would vanish, at least temporarily.

The Placebo Effect

The medics weren't exactly tricking the soldiers; they were activating a placebo effect. The placebo effect is basically a series of reactions in the brain that can change its psychological or physiological functioning. Like in the example of the soldiers, they thought they were getting morphine, which they know dulls the pain immediately, but they were given saltwater. The reaction was the same; it cancelled out the pain, at least temporarily. The reason for this is because your brain controls your body, and your mind can subconsciously control your brain.

Muscle Building Placebo Effects

The placebo effect spills over into the muscle gaining environment through other drugs known as supplements. The truth is, many of the supplements on the shelves don't actually contain any active ingredients that would cause someone to gain muscle. Some supplements are like a shot of saltwater, they are useless and just get carried out. Other supplements have very little active ingredient, but not enough to account for any muscle growth that someone might experience while on the supplement.

Most muscle gaining hopefuls don't simply walk into a store and purchase any flashy tub of powder they see. They usually make "informed" decisions based upon what they've read in magazines or heard from others. In most cases, when someone starts taking a dietary supplement for the first time, it's a leap of faith. They are using the supplement for one simple reason, because they believe it will work.

The belief is key here. When you believe something completely, and back it with emotion, you can accomplish things that once seemed impossible. This includes physiological changes, or changes to the body. By thinking and believing that the supplement that was just consumed will cause muscle growth, the brain takes it as instructions. Basically, because of the individual's strong conviction, the person's brain will actually get to work and start the muscle building process. It will do this because it was told to do it.

Now, usually when a trainee starts a new supplement, they believe it will help build muscle. With everything else staying the same, this belief is strong enough to spark growth. The thing is, how many people start a new supplement and keep doing what they are doing? Not many. Most people will get on the "new miracle" and will kick their training up a notch. Not only will they improve their training, they usually improve their nutrition and recovery.

Give Yourself Some Credit

If you were to make those improvements to your muscle gaining strategy: training more intensely, eating better, and resting properly, wouldn't you gain muscle anyway, even without the supplement? The answer is a resounding Yes! Too many people get on a supplement and give all credit for improvement to the supplement. Give yourself more credit! You did the work, not the supplement! Chances are, the supplement didn't even do anything, and it was just a placebo. Some supplements are worth taking and do the body some good, but if you don't build the foundation with solid training, nutrition, recovery... the supplements won't do you any good. Now if supplements can't help build muscle with poor training and nutrition, do you think they help with proper training and nutrition? Maybe a little, but it's you getting the results, not the supplement.

Here are three easy steps to wean yourself off of unnecessary supplements:

1. Slowly stop using whatever you want to quit and see your results not slip, but actually believe that they will improve. Use the placebo effect for your advantage.

2. Realize that it's you doing the hard work, not the supplement. Give yourself the credit.

3. Start believing in yourself and your ability to gain muscle. Just as a belief in a supplement can cause growth, believe in yourself and see what happens.

Now you can use the placebo effect to your advantage and use your mind and muscle connection to build muscle.




Source:

Here's How Bad Painkillers Are For You

Popping painkillers has more or less come across as a norm, and people just choose to for painkillers, be it for end-of-the-day headache, a body pain post workout, or even minor spinal discomfort. If you do pop in painkillers every now and then, you should be aware that these could have side effects on your health and well being, and may even prove to be addictive.

HOW DO PAINKILLERS WORK?

The two main mechanisms through which painkillers work are:

1. Reducing pain by suppressing formation of chemicals in the body which cause pain.

2. Reducing sensation of pain by binding to opoid receptors of central nervous system.

However, one has to stay wary to make sure that one is always in a position to avoid the side effects which come as a part and parcel of using painkillers. Some of these are:

1. Addiction:

Painkillers could be highly addictive substances, mainly owing to the feeling of euphoria they create amongst users. The fact that many over-the-counter and prescription painkillers are abused due to addiction could take many by surprise.

A scenario wherein an individual is particularly vulnerable to becoming addicted to painkillers is when one consumes these post surgery for recovery. The underlying idea behind consumption of these painkillers is to numb the pain, but people over time become addictive and iteratively go for higher doses.

Over time, it might be possible that an individual is not able to cope up with withdrawal symptoms and becomes addicted to the effect created by a painkiller.

2. Cardiovascular Effects:

Research has even shown that use of painkillers could lead to cardiovascular complications, some of which include slowing down of heart rate, or even a heart attack (myocardial infarction).

If one goes for painkiller abuse, or consumes more than the quantity of painkillers as prescribed, it could lead to fluctuations in the heart rate. Blood clotting and stroke are some other possible side effects of painkillers on the cardiovascular system.

3. Worsens Headaches:

If one happens to consume painkillers such as paracetamol, asprin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for getting over a headache, and for more than 15 days a month, they are likely to be victims of overuse of drugs. With passage of times, such people could experience headaches which increase in duration, and sometimes in intensity as well.

4. Lead To Kidney Damage:

Any drug that one consumes is released in the bloodstream, and thereafter eliminated after being filtered from the kidneys. Painkillers could influence the process of filtration in following ways

o Interfering with flow of blood to the kidneys.

o Lead to allergic reactions

o Cause direct injury to kidney nephrons

Over time, this could possibly lead to kidney damage and sometimes has even more serious consequences such as leading to a kidney failure.

5. May Even Cause Depression:

Depression is a term normally associated with sadness or even chronic stress. But usage of painkillers has shown to increase symptoms of depression, in particular if one uses opoid analgesics.

Say no to painkillers today!

 Source: