Intro to acupuncture: fall nutrition
Fall is a transition season
We’re going from the longer days of summer toward the darker, colder days of winter. One of the best strategies to adapt to this change, and strengthen our bodies for the harsher months to come, is through dietary changes.
Acupuncture nutrition is a bit different from what you’re used to. The guiding principle is actually pretty simple. You eat what can be harvested at the time of consumption. Now if you live in an area with harsh winters you’re probably wondering how that is even possible. In these cases you would include foods that could be easily stored or preserved as well (such as root vegetables).
In New England we’re currently enjoying the fruits of our harvest, so the choices are indeed bountiful. A simplification of the extensive list would include hardy greens (kale, spinach, and certain romaine), as well as a plethora of root vegetables.
In addition to changing the foods we eat, our cooking styles themselves should adapt to the season. The goal is to transition from raw foods to warm cooked ones. Don’t overcomplicate this. Some easy tips:
Swap out oatmeal for cold cereals
Drink warm beverages as a replacement for iced
Lightly sauté greens instead of eating them raw
Make a vegetable soup to eat in place of salad
When cooking add in aromatic spices such as ginger, clove and garlic (which helps keep the lungs clear of congestion and phlegm, which can be present with fall allergies and colds).
Lastly, avoid greasy or fried foods.
I’m sure I sound like a broken record with the fried food advice but I’ll take a minute to explain the reasoning as to why it’s so important during the cooler months. Fried, greasy, and overly processed foods all tax our digestive (Spleen) energy. When the Spleen is bogged down digesting greasy foods it isn’t running optimally. This contributes to the formation of damp and phlegm. In this case, I’m not just referring to energetic phlegm but the formation of actual phlegm, which can cause stuffy noses, foggy thinking, sluggish digestion and an overall feeling of bleh. This isn’t to say that eating some fried dough at the fair will be catastrophic, but it should be limited in general and avoided when we’re not feeling well.
Like we talked about last week, Fall is the time to stock up your stores to prepare for winter. If you’re feeling sluggish, fatigue or are the type of person who catches colds easily, now is the time to come in for an Acupuncture Tune-Up.
Next week we’ll wrap up the fall blog series by diving into some practical ways we can aid our emotional health this fall.
