WINTER NUTRITION

The following article is an extract from the book: Mindful Nutrition, Back to Basics with TCM, by Leni Crefeld.

Winter is the pure yin season during which the sinking and centring direction of energy is at its maximum. The warming, yang energy of nature is concentrated in seeds and roots deep in the ground. The world is cold and dark outside, so it needs to be warm at the core. This protects Kidney Jing, and in the natural world it protects the young and still invisible life waiting to re-emerge in spring.

To prepare for the coming, more active seasons of the year and to help withstand the cold of winter, winter was traditionally used to build physical energy in the form of some extra body weight. When people lived in cold houses and worked in cold conditions, body fat was the best protection against the cold. In addition, it was thought to be important to rest up and refuel during the winter, laying the foundation for good health in the more active seasons to come. Today, one can say that the colder the weather, or the colder your living- and working conditions, the more fat and other warming foods and cooking methods you use during this season.

The Chinese kidneys (and bladder) achieve their energetic maximum during this season. They store our prenatal Jing, nourish and support the liver, regulate the skeleton and bones, the nervous system, brains, teeth, hair and hearing. The kidneys hate cold. When the kidneys are warm and strong, we are strong and able for life.

Because kidneys hate cold, midriff-bearing tops in autumn, winter and spring are abhorred by TCM. Under-cooling of the kidneys can lead to infertility and impotence.

Salty and Bitter

The energetic direction of the winter diet goes to the core, to the kidneys. Winter foods, therefore, have a sinking or down-bearing effect. They are extremely nourishing and boost the kidneys. Salty and bitter foods cool the exterior and bring the body heat down into the centre of the body. But care should be taken with salt. Too much salt damages the kidneys and its organ pair, the bladder. Moreover, the excessive consumption of salt combined with cold and excessive amounts of fluids also damages the heart. In stead of sea salt, think, rather, in terms of salty food products (see below).

• Winter favours long-cooking casseroles, stews and soups with warming meats such as lamb;

• warming drinks such as star-anise tea and high-proof alcohol (in small amounts).

• Use some sharp foods to keep the circulation going and some sweet foods to build energy and to retain moisture.

• Stored foods such as pulses and preserved meats, oily fish , and sea vegetables (seaweeds) strengthen the kidneys. Sea vegetables are a powerful source of minerals.

• Keep your eye on maintaining a balanced diet! Over-consumption of hot, warm and sharp foods and cooking methods, and too many pulses/legumes, causes internal dryness. Use cooling ingredients to off-set the excessive warming effect of meats.

Our skin can become very dry in winter, particularly during climatic cold, dry spells, with drying winds. This combination of cold, dry weather outside and centrally heated warm and dry indoor conditions dries our lungs and skin, particularly as we age. When this happens, we need to include foods into our diet that moisten the lungs and the skin.

Foods that prevent drying out in winter

• Soy beans, soy milk, tofu, tempeh. (All soy products are cold so take them with warming foods and/or herbs.)

• Barley (for example barley water, see Recipes) and millet cooked with warming herbs or spices such as cinnamon and cloves.

• Fruit: Apples - stewed/baked with cinnamon/vanilla/cloves and raisins. Pears - fill the pears with honey and steam them for an hour. Steamed/stewed/baked fruit prevents the lungs from cooling down. Tangerines, cooked tomatoes, grapes.

• Lily flowers (in tea or in cooked foods, for example with chicken).

• Sea vegetables.

• Peanuts (cooked with vegetables). Sesame seeds.

• Milk, coconut milk.

• Barley malt, rice malt.

• Crab, oysters, mussels, herrings. Pork. Eggs.

Salty foods: miso, soy sauce, sea vegetables, sea salt, oily fish, crab, millet, barley and all products with added salt including fermented foods such as sauerkraut and salted beans.

Dried foods: such as dried fruit, sea vegetables, aduki beans, black beans, black soy beans, mung beans, kidney beans, lentils, bean sprouts.

Winter vegetables: beets, curly kale, celeriac, paksoi, pumpkin, leek, red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, black salsify/oyster plant, turnip, parsnip, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, taugé, onions, winter carrot, chicory, white cabbage, sauerkraut.

Grains: barley, millet, brown rice.

Hearty, warming soups: made with beans, marrowbones and whole grains, soaked and cooked overnight or all day.

Winter meats: lamb, beef, poultry, duck, venison and game; the meat and bones of pork and chicken, eggs.

Nuts and seeds: especially walnuts and almonds (never more than half a dozen a day), black sesame seed.

Winter fruit: grapes.

Herbs: cloves, fennel seed, aniseed, black pepper (white pepper is hot, black pepper is warm), fresh ginger, cinnamon, and the onion family.

Teas: fennel, anise, star anise, nettle, golden rod/wound wort (the last clears Damp Heat).

Light bitter foods: watercress, endive, celery, celeriac, alfalfa, the outer leaves of cabbages, rye and oats.

Real bitter: the skins of citrus fruit, chicory, coffee and dark chocolate.

Micro-algae and vitamin D

Dark-skinned people or people suffering from winter depression do well to take a course of micro-algae, or vitamin D. In terms of micro-algae this means Spirulina or Chlorella. If you feel you become too cold, stop taking them and try again in spring. (See Spring Nutrition.)

Winter Cooking Methods

• In winter the most warming method is cooking foods in their own juices, over a long time. This means oven-baked foods, casseroles and stews.

• To increase the warming quality of meals cooked on the stovetop, cook them for long periods over a minimal flame and/or in the hay box. (See Recipes and Appendix 5: Hay Box Construction.) Use some alcohol or warming spices.

• Above all, food should not be cooling; do not consume raw foods or raw fruit.

• You do need to balance the warming foods and cooking methods with some moisturising foods such as fruit cooked in with meats (mango, papaya, pineapple, for example).

• Fruit such as apples and pears can be stewed with warming herbs such as cinnamon or vanilla and cloves. Use ordinary apples rather than cooking apples. Cooking apples are sour and require liberal amounts of added sugar to make an edible dish. This is entirely unnecessary: Applesauce made on ordinary apples tastes just as nice, if not nicer; try the various varieties to see which you like best!

• Some smoked fish is recommended as a kidney supplement in the winter. However, take it sparingly, especially when combined with salt.

• Frying and roasting are warming cooking methods, but avoid them if you suffer from internal heat, especially Damp Heat. With Damp Heat, you also avoid oils, frying fats and alcohol.

Dried Beans

Don’t forget that pulses/legumes are drying. This is great when you are too damp, think of foggy headaches, sinusitis and repeated colds or bronchitis, but not good when you suffer from dry conditions such as the winter itch and dry skin or a dry cough. With pathogenic dryness you could add barley instead of rice, for example, to bean soups. Pearl barley, on the other hand, dries damp, just the opposite of what is wanted with internal dryness. In general, you should use moistening vegetables with beans.

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Author Details: Leni Hurley