Does it matter if it's only a placebo effect?

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There's been recent talk here about GFCF diet and it's effect on autism. Whenever such ideas are brought up, they will be denounced as mere placebos by at least one person. The same is true when, say, zendell talks about removing mercury fillings. I'm not denying that all such treatments are inherently worthless (and I think they probably are) but does it really matter if the improvement is only due to a placebo? I mean, if the person is feeling better, functioning on a higher level, happier, does it matter that they only feel better because of a placebo effect? I mean, they still feel better.

I don't really want to get into a big debate over mercury/autism links, we've had plenty of those debates in the past and I'm sure we'll have plenty more in the future. Just: does it really matter if a patient improves due to the placebo effect? Does this invalidate the treatment or make it less worthwhile?

If it's just a placebo effect, then yes, it's garbage. Good for him if he feels better, but the placebo effect must be zeroed out in any viable study of efficacy. Efficacy applies to the likelihood that a treatment will do some good for the next person who tries it, not the person experiencing the placebo effect. Could his expectation of feeling better be the cause of his different mannerisms and hygiene habits, which are making him feel better, and not the diet? Could he have done these things without the diet?

Frankly, I HATE that it is so hard to really go GF.

I tend to NOT see the placebo affect! I have drunk literally GALLONS of milk and not gone to sleep, many cups of coffee, and not stayed awake, taken aspirin until I got tinnitus with NO pain relief! The ONLY OTC pain reliever that ever worked with me was ibuprofen, and THAT was only after taking 800mg(TWICE the maximum OTC dose). Current OTC sleeping pills do NOTHING for me! HECK, many of the PRESCRIPTION drugs DON'T WORK with me! I never knew that certain people around the ASD spectrum have the same experience. I didn't even know I was diagnosed ADD, or even what AS was. I ALSO had, what NOW seem like, crazy ideas about autism.

When I was on the milk diet, I think I did ok. I don't know if I will bother trying a CF diet. I DID try a GF diet. GUESS WHAT! I felt like a coworker described that HE felt after he took adderall!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall

I felt like I had most of the good and less of the bad of AS! And, yes, I lost weight. Even the person on youtube refered to the almost stimulant like effect.

I think it was different enough and long enough, to attribute it to the GF diet.

2ukenkerl, have you tried Rescue Remedy for sleeping etc? It's one of the best things I've ever used, it's so calming and works so well... if you've not tried it it just may help!

I'm glad you asked. I think some treatments may be placebo effects but I support them anyway if the benefits exceed the risks and costs.

Many effective prescription drugs work due to placebo effects. If a drug study shows 30% improve with placebo versus 50% with the drug, that means that only 20% (50% - 30%) improved due to real effects of the drug. Of the 50% who get better, the majority (60%), improved due to placebo effects.

If the treatments are safe and inexpensive, I really don't think it should matter. Most so-called placebo effects in drug studies are really minor improvements often due to the people in the study eating better and exercising more in case the researchers ask questions or are just better because symptoms tend to vary. They get the same placebo effects in studies using objective measures. Placebos reduce cholesterol and blood pressure just like they improve subjective symptoms due to people enrolling when their cholesterol happens to be at the high end of their usual range. Does anyone really think a psychological placebo effects would lower cholesterol and blood pressure? I think placebos are incorrectly used to deny the benefits of valid alternative treatments. It's rare to have a dramatic improvement with a placebo. Usually, it's due to a real effect of the treatment.

I don't recall. At least one site mentions women though. Does this only work on women? Most OTC sleeping medicines in the US are based on one of three items, and I tried ALL THREE!

It depends.. Maybe the placebo effect is only affecting the parents.. Them believing the change where there is none. This is VERY possible but it might end up meaning the child doesnt get the support he/she needs.

A placebo effect is better than no effect at all, I think. If they get better because they think they're better, that's still good for them, isn't it?
If someone improves because they had different fillings put in, or went onto a diet, or took a sugar pill, then where's the harm from getting better? Sure, it's not really actually a treatment that was designed to do that, but it's better than nothing.

But in this case the cost is not small. Even though followers of the GFCF diet aren't paying any money to follow the diet, there are other costs. These include inconvenience to yourself and others when you can't eat what's being served. Also, if there isn't a specific reason why you must avoid wheat and dairy, such as lactose intolerance or wheat allergy, then you may be avoiding some of your favorite foods for nothing, which is arguably a significant personal cost.

Then there's the social lameness factor. I like to understand some of the aspect of people's behavior from the standpoint of evolutionary biology. My theory is that people go out to eat challenging foods and beverages, such as ice cream and alcohol, as a way to test each other's ability to absorb these things in moderation without suffering ill effects, and thereby test each other's genetic fitness. It sounds mean at the individual level but it may serve a good purpose at the species level.

For example, a lactose intolerant person may come across as stubborn or lame for sitting out the opportunity to socialize at an ice cream gathering. This missed opportunity may slightly reduce his likelyhood of breeding. A slight bias favoring those whose genes permit them to process lactose, when carried out over enough generations, will ensure that nearly all of the individuals will be able to process lactose. This is arguably an advantagious genetic trait whether a particular individual wants to use this ability or not.

It's a bit of a reach, but not beyond imagination to say that, by following the GFCF diet unnecessarily, you may be advertising something bad, yet untrue, about your genetic fitness. This is a significant cost to the individual, and maybe the species, too.