Principles of the human body functioning and their applications in integrative medicine (review)

Throughout the history of modern science, scientists have tried to understand the principles that govern the operation of the human body. They have always done so on the basis of existing concepts, such as the current accepted ruling paradigm. In the XVII – XIXth centuries, the human body was compared with mechanisms, functioning on the basis of Newtonian principles. In the XXth century, biochemical principles came to the forefront, supported to some extent by the electrical; in the XXIst century, the temptation is to reduce all the roots of health problems to genetics, but this approach has not been justified. At last, we have come to the understanding that all these principles operate simultaneously, and all of them are equally important, and influence each other. Chemical agents circulate in the body, controlled by electrical signals, while factoring the effects of genetics and local environmental conditions. These principles have been accepted by a new developing branch of medicine – Integrative Medicine. It is defined by the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine as “an approach to the practice of medicine that makes use of the best-available evidence taking into account the whole person (body, mind and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle.1