AUTUMN NUTRITION

The Chinese say that the energetic direction of the Autumn is downwards and towards the centre. This applies to humans as well as all of nature. Autumn was traditionally the harvest and food storage season. And it is largely still so. Crops mature, fruit and nuts fall from the trees and seeds dry out. Leaves dry out, change colour and fall to the ground. Low growing vegetation looses its deep green colour. It becoming lighter and drier. In short, the energy of plants withdraws under ground and into the roots of plants. The coat of animals thickens. Migrating birds depart. People of old secured their stocks of winter fuel; they preserved and stored foods and they retrieved their warm clothes from storage. The human pulse withdraws deeper into the body. Thus, the energetic direction of the autumn season is to withdraw, to sink and to bundle the energy into the centre, in preparation for the coming winter. The autumn diet must assist the sinking, centring energies of this season.

The lungs and the large intestines reach their energetic maximum in the autumn. These are the prime organs of the immune system. With winter on the way, autumn is the prime season to cleanse and boost the lungs and large intestine. This is traditionally achieved with the use of sharp foods and spices. Sharp foods stimulate the flow of Qi and blood. This clears phlegm from the lungs and it improves the liver function. Sharp and hot spices, however, dry saliva and phlegm. In other words, it you suffer from phlegm in the lungs, or from general dryness, sharp and hot spices aggravate the condition. And because the sharp taste stimulates the flow of Qi and blood, sharp foods also aversely affects people with a so-called blood-deficiency. This means that problems such as insomnia, stress, agitation, headaches, Parkinsons’ Disease, are aggravated by the consumption of sharp foods and spices. In the West, all but a very few people can use sharp and hot spices to clear the lungs and strengthen the immune system in preparation for winter. Thus, in autumn, your dietary focus is on sharp foods and you avoid sharp and hot spices such as curry and Spanish red peppers. In addition, you turn to warming foods and cooking methods. This means more meats and fish. In stead of vegetable soups, for example, you turn to marrow soups, using marrow from organic and free-range shops. If you do make vegetable soups – for example with beans or lentils, you add a few drops of freshly squeezed ginger in the last few minutes of the cooking time. A marrow or fish broth for breakfast is a good way to start the day. You take it with some bread. And in stead of stir-fried meals, you turn to stews and casseroles. These long- and slow-cooking cooking methods bring more warmth into your meals.

Products that cleanse the lungs and intestines include garlic, watercress, fresh ginger, kohlrabi, asparagus, radishes, onions and white wine. Also think of herbs such as basil, chives, dill (fresh and dried dill removes heavy metals such as mercury from fish and sea vegetables), the bark of cinnamon, cinnamon twigs, cumin, cloves, marjoram, mustard, nutmeg, pepper, dried mandarin skins, pepper mint, rosemary and star anise.

Autumn foods: pears, apples, grapes, olives, limes, lemons, pickled gherkins, umeboshi (a Japanese prune), chestnuts, fennel (a root vegetable or a herb), barley gruel and barley water, millet, aduki beans, sea vegetables, peanuts (only a few, unsalted and used in cooking), coconut, sesame seeds (dry-roasted over your vegetables or on bread), barley- and rice malt, millet, barley, pork meat, venison, eggs, yoghurt, cauliflower, button mushrooms, leeks, onions, salsify, young winter carrots, aubergines, beetroot, red cabbage, blanched celery, courgette, kohlrabi, bean sprouts, winter radish, Angela root (Chinese shop, strengthens the immune system, add it to long-cooking soups or stews), miso, soy sauce, sea salt, fish, crab (cooked in combination with ginger and vinegar), mussels (cooked with vegetables), oysters, herrings, sea vegetables.

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Author Details: Leni Hurley