Autumn Tip

Autumn is a particularly important time to focus on your health and especially strengthening the immune system. Our bodies are vulnerable as our natural thermostats have not yet caught up to the colder outside temperatures.

Autumn is a big shift in energy, daylight, climate and diet.

Our diet needs to take into consideration the combination of individual factors such as age, constitution, lifestyle and character plus our environmental and climatic circumstances. Summer foods such as salads, cucumbers, and melons are ideal for hot weather because they have a cooling effect on the body. Conversely, cooked foods such as hot soups and stews, root vegetables and meats are warming and nourishing for the body in the cold winter months that are approaching. One of my favorite cook books is “Suppito”. This great soup cookbook offers 44 recipes balanced accourding to TCM principiles and categorized seasonly.

Incorporate autumn vegetables into your meals; parsnips, parsley root, pumpkin and squashes, cabbage and sweet potatoes. It is a wonderfully rich time of year using the denser root vegetables combined with nuts and seeds. And of course the variety of apples, pears and plums into your daily routine. Add some fresh ginger to your food or tea. It is not only warming but can help give your immune system some extra punch.

A small bag of roast chestnuts are a perfect warming snack on a cold day.