Ever notice how that cold salad or bowl of crisp fruit doesn’t quite hit the spot this time of year? Soups and steamed greens just sound better when it gets cold outside. Our bodies and tastes are known to fluctuate with every season and winter is definitely no exception. Winter brings short days and long nights causing a natural slow down in our bodies. We don’t hibernate, but our body’s processes do slow down to restore and rejuvenate.
According to Chinese Medicine, the winter season is linked to the kidneys, the adrenal glands, and the bladder. Toxins and carbon dioxide accumulate due to inactivity and colds, and flu’s run rampant. Poor circulation and low vitality are common in the cold winter months as well.
To combat these winter pitfalls the Yellow Emperor (the main inventor of ancient Chinese Medicine) suggests we:
“Sleep early and wait to let the sun bathe the house before rising from bed, dress warmly and engage in physical exercise, refrain from the cold and the raw in your diet, reduce salt to protect the kidneys but increase bitter flavors, be happy, and prevent the stirring of emotions. These are the ways to avoid the winter blues.”
Bitter and slightly salty foods are considered the flavors for the cold season. Warm hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts are perfect. Dried foods, small dark beans, seaweeds, and steamed winter greens sound great this time of year. It’s recommended to cook foods longer, at lower temperatures and with less water.
“Sleep early and wait to let the sun bathe the house before rising from bed, dress warmly and engage in physical exercise, refrain from the cold and the raw in your diet, reduce salt to protect the kidneys but increase bitter flavors, be happy, and prevent the stirring of emotions. These are the ways to avoid the winter blues.”
Bitter and slightly salty foods are considered the flavors for the cold season. Warm hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts are perfect. Dried foods, small dark beans, seaweeds, and steamed winter greens sound great this time of year. It’s recommended to cook foods longer, at lower temperatures and with less water.
Here are some awesome foods and herbs to cook up or add to any recipe this winter:
Bitter Foods To Try: lettuce, watercress, endive, escarole, turnip, celery, asparagus, alfalfa, carrot top, rye oats, quinoa, and amaranth.
Powerful Bitter Herbs: chicory root, burdock root, horsetail, and chaparral.
Salty Foods To Try: miso, soy sauce, seaweeds, millet, barley. Eat salty foods in moderation of course.
Just thinking about all of this makes me want to heat up some lentil soup! I always forget about the importance of seaweed in everyone’s diet. I’ve got to hit the health food store!
Just thinking about all of this makes me want to heat up some lentil soup! I always forget about the importance of seaweed in everyone’s diet. I’ve got to hit the health food store!
Sources: Healing With Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford, Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100
by Dr. Moashing Ni.
by Dr. Moashing Ni.
