Hot and Cold Theory: Future Perspective

Abstract

Temperament or "hot and cold" theory is a common fundamental concept in folk and traditional medicines practiced worldwide which describes the individual differences in a spectrum along a so-called hotness-coldness axis. Unfortunately, this concept has been ignored by conventional medicine following the trends toward reductionism. Despite this, there are many recent studies in different fields as discussed in previous chapters, that are supporting the efficacy of this holistic personalized approach in health maintenance, disease prevention and treatment. Systems biology studies, innovative modified clinical trials and whole system research are among our tools to investigate the physiopathology and effectiveness of this concept in clinical practice and may pave our way toward personalized medicine in future.