Principle of Hot and Cold and Its Clinical Application in Latin American and Caribbean Medicines.

Abstract

Historically hot and cold theories have been essential for the constitution and practice of Latin American and Caribbean traditional health systems. Nonetheless, the scarcity and dispersion of the available information impedes the recognition of the relevance and intercultural applicability of these medicines, both in the clinical, academic, and political settings. For these reasons, the aim of this narrative review is to describe hot and cold theories in the conformation and clinical practice of Latin American and Caribbean medical systems. Hot and cold classifications apply tothe traditionalunderstanding of health, the body, its physiology, and disease, which therapeutic and preventive approaches are based on foods, habits, and medicinal plants of the opposite cold or hot category. There are recognizable similarities between hot and cold theories in Latin American and Caribbean medicines and in other medical cultures. The growing scientific research and evidence contributes to re-signify the clinical applicability of Latin American and Caribbean traditional medicines. Further research about hot and cold theories in Latin American and Caribbean medicines is strongly recommended, to optimize its integration with biomedicine in an equitable intercultural context.