As the weather turns colder, it’s time to adjust our diets for autumn. We need to eat foods that warm the body in preparation for the cold of winter. Our focus should be on changing the type of food and improving the quality. In the first stage (you can do this over one week):
- Reduce and then eliminate foods and drinks that cool the body: fruits, particularly tropical fruits, refined sugars, chocolate and carob, alcohol and caffeinated drinks, cold and frozen foods and drinks,
- Increase the consumption of whole grains, particularly brown rice, root vegetables such as carrots, suedes, parsnips, radishes, and pungents such as ginger, as well as greens such as kale and cabbage
- East less raw foods and more cooked foods and start including more soups and stews in your diet. Congee at breakfast is a great way to start making the shift in diet.
In the second stage,
- eliminate all flour products such as pasta, bread, cake and pastries, deep fried and fatty foods, uncooked/dry muesli and other “dead”-quality foods
- Add pickles such as ginger pickles and fermented foods such as miso soup. Umeboshi plums and gomashio also assist in centering and warming the body. Kuzu used in drinks and foods can
- Foods can be cooked for longer and grains and beans can be pressure-cooked.
If these steps are not taken, not only are we out of harmony with the seasons, we can set ourselves up for respiratory problems. If we eat foods that cool the body as the weather cools and continue to eat foods such as flour products that clog the lungs and large intestine, we create the conditions in the body that allow viruses and bacteria thrive.
Keep doing the second stage for as long as you can. Reducing flour products from the diet can feel quite strange at first but if you persist, your body will adjust and your digestive system will feel lighter and work more efficiently. If you don’t normally have problems with bloating, you can re-introduce some good-quality wholemeal sourdough bread several times a week (fast-acting yeasts are better avoided), otherwise continue to enjoy the feeling of lightness.
If you find it difficult to give up strongly-sweetened foods and sugar or find it difficult to give up eating fruits, try to eat fruits that are in season, have a small amount of dried fruits, or try cooking fruits with kuzu. You can also use sweeteners such as rice syrup or barley malt in moderation.
For more information, you can read the post from last autumn.
For those people living in the northern hemisphere, go to Fasting in Spring for more information on how to adjust your diet as the weather warms.
Please let me know if you have any questions.