Placebos, Diets, and the Power of Avoiding Negative Things

After a recent piece on the radio about another diet craze (Paleo Diet), a thought that has been bouncing around in my head for a while crystallized (at one point in the piece, a guy on the paleo diet said something like "I am allergic to eggs, so now that I am on this diet - I am much better off" and I remember thinking "well, couldn't he just avoid eggs without this diet?"):

All diet plans seem to work because they force you to pay attention to what you are putting in your body.  That can only be a good thing, right?  Then, it is just a matter of finding the diet plan that works for you in the sense that you to stay with it so that you pay attention for a long period of time!  That might explain why different diets work for different people  - even though the diets are antithetical to each other (think no carbs and all-carbs!).

Maybe this is what's up with the placebo effect in medicine.  As long as you think about getting better and think that you are - you are paying attention (in a positive way) to your body and that can only help things along...

I'm not really talking about the power of positive thinking here - I'm talking about the avoidance of eating random things or engaging in activities not conducive to healing.  I AM on a diet, I AM taking medicine that WILL make me feel better are thoughts that may not heal you on their own, but they certainly could help you make better decisions...