The Duchess of Sussex was spotted on the streets of Montecito, with a strange blue patch on her wrist. A patch that would have anti-stress properties? The explanations of Grégory Ninot, researcher at the University of Montpellier and author of the book “100 alternative medicines validated by science” published by Belin.
Thursday August 10, Meghan Markle warmly dressed for the season, was seen in the streets of Montecito, California. Beyond her outfit, it’s a blue patch stuck to her left wrist that caught the eye.
An anti-stress patch from the brand NuCalm
It would in fact be an anti-stress patch, marketed by the NuCalm brand. According to the brand’s website, it’s a “biosignal processing disk”which would affect the parasympathetic nervous system “by tapping into the pericardium meridian” to lower heart rate and blood pressure. These are measured by an application, to be installed on your smartphone.
Is it possible ? According to Professor Grégory Ninot, researcher at the University of Montpellier and specialist in non-drug interventions, this type of “gadget” – widely promoted by public figures – is more of a fashion effect… and product placement . “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Meghan Markle was paid to wear this patch, maybe she only wore it for a few minutes. There’s not really any regulation around this type of product and no meaningful evidence, so it’s hard to give it any benefits.”
Meghan Markle wears anti-stress patch while Prince Harry is away in Asia https://t.co/97n0MTbQ2t pic.twitter.com/gvUIxKTsR9
—Page Six (@PageSix) August 12, 2023
A real need to distinguish between pseudoscience and effective medicine
The only benefit that Professor Ninot recognizes in them is to “encourage people to take care of their health”: “It’s a bit like step counters on smartphones. This is inspired by biofeedback, ie the measurement of body data, but that’s it. This type of patch can therefore encourage you to listen to your body, but from there to recognizing its real effectiveness, nothing is less certain”.
For the author of “100 alternative medicines validated by science”, it is essential to distinguish between all these soft, alternative approaches… “Thehe fight that I lead is to be able to sort out the “pseudomedicines” for which there is no proof and the real alternative medicines different from conventional medicine, but which are recognized and effective” concludes the researcher.
