Have you ever felt a surge of adrenaline after almost getting into an accident? Salivated at the sight of a sour lemon? Felt turned on by your partner’s voice? If so, says scientific journalist Jo Marchant, you’ve experienced how the workings of the mind can affect your body.

In this episode, we look at the mind's potential to ease pain, reduce anxiety and even cut the risk of infection, heart disease, and other serious medical ailments. Jo discusses how the latest findings in mind-body research: How hypnotherapy, mindfulness techniques, Virtual Reality, and social connections can play important roles in healing and prevention.

More than one in three Americans have turned to alternative medicine. But do homeopathy, acupuncture and other therapies actually work? What does science say about the use of placebos in medicine?

"I believe very strongly in an evidence-based approach that we have to investigate things in a scientific way," Jo tells us in this episode. "On the other hand, I also started to feel that science has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to the role of the mind in health."

Jo Marchant discusses the findings of her New York Times best-selling book "Cure: A Journey Into The Science of Mind Over Body."