To many, this subject is indeed controversial, but again, it goes back to the relationship between perceptions and healing. The psychological benefits can be great however, as faith in a remedy can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The 15 patients who were given placebos all had significantly improved heart function, while those who had received nothing did not get better. That the power of faith in a pill, if indeed that was what produced these results, could have such a startling effect on such serious health problems is amazing. Granted, not all placebos have such a dramatic effect, but the complex relationship between actual medical treatment and the belief system of a patient cannot be denied.
Folk remedies serve many different functions to different people.
For example, for some they represent a reaffirmation of tradition, for others a sense of nostalgia. Others rely on them because they mistrust modern medicine or are hampered from getting to a doctor by economic and geographic restraints. The great majority of people who practice folk remedies, however, do so simply because they truly believe that they work. And many of them actually do. This perception is often untrue.