Fall Newsletter

Today is the first day of fall and the autumnal equinox, when the day and night are the same length. This change of season marks our movement into cooler temperatures, shorter days, and longer nights. Chinese medicine relates all things to Yin and Yang. The balance of Yin and Yang, which is greater or lesser, is the balance in any given thing. One cannot exist without the other. During the fall and moving into winter the Yang begins to move inward as the Yin begins to increase. This means that the warm energy we have stored throughout the spring and summer now needs to carry us through the fall and winter. In Chinese Medicine fall is associated with the Metal element and is associated with dryness. This can be seen very literally as we can see the leaves drying up and the Wind carrying them down to the ground. The Wind, which is called in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic (the first book of Chinese medicine), ‘the cause of the 10,000 diseases,’ is what makes us susceptible to illness during this season.

The organs associated with this time are the Lungs and the Large Intestine, so we must think about protecting them. You may have noticed that there is a greater tendency to become susceptible to illness as the seasons change. This is especially true as we move into the more Yin times of the year. You are now susceptible to illness as the lungs can be weakened by the dryness in the environment making them easily attacked by external illness or internal dryness. Beware of colds, allergies, dry intestines, dry throat, and dry skin during this time. Make sure your neck is covered when you go outdoors (protected from wind attack), avoid drafts and keep your immune system strong (I have included some tips below). Develop a skin care routine and stick to it, keeping your skin healthy is important as susceptibility to skin problems is common during this dry season.

Detoxification

These two organs play a role in the detoxification of our bodies, the Lungs through perspiration, the Large Intestine through elimination. It is important to develop a program throughout the colder months which continues to allow the Lungs to vent toxins through sweat, this could mean exercise, which should always be incorporated, but could also mean a good steam or hot tub to induce sweat, with the environmental dryness now, dry saunas can be too dry so be careful with those. Avoid soaping immediately after a steam or hot tub as this spreads the toxins on the skin causing us to reabsorb them. Rinse first, then soap. Cold baths following a hot soak can be beneficial as well. It not only gets your lymphatic and circulatory systems going but also closes your pores to prevent re-absorption of toxins. Do so with caution though; this can cause you to get lightheaded as it shocks the system.

Developing a diet that allows our bodies to continue to process and remove waste from our systems is important now as always. The change of seasons is always a great time to detoxify. Be sure you are healthy when you start a detox as they can easily make you sick if you are not. As always, if you are doing a detox, ease into it and ease out of it. For example, you want to start having a cleaner diet leading into a cleanse and coming out of it, avoiding heavy fried foods and heavy meats such as beef, for example. Lighter fare such as steamed vegetables and fish are lighter choices you may consider. Make sure you are getting enough fiber so you may eliminate the toxins as they are released from your system.

Eating during the fall

Fall is the time of the harvest. In the past when we lived by the seasons, it was a time of collecting ourselves and our food to prepare for winter. Take note from the squirrels now, as they are busy gathering and collecting for the months to come. It is now time to collect our thoughts, prepare our projects for completion, and organize our homes to prepare for the internal reflective time to come. This is often not possible with our busy modern lives, but it is good to recognize as it may bring attention to things we could be doing to nurture ourselves during this time. Where the Yang energy of the summer encourages us to be outside, the increasing Yin energy now, encourages us to go inward.

As opposed to the summertime when the environmental heat allows us to consume more raw foods, now is the time to begin cooking again. The foods that are available and harvested now are denser foods that need to be cooked longer; these foods are the more dense squashes, roots vegetables, dried grains and beans. Adding heat to the food we eat by cooking it allows it to be more easily digested and assimilated when the environmental heat may not be as plentiful. These cooked foods nourish our internal organs as we consolidate and prepare for the cooling temperatures. I have included a list of seasonal foods below.

Autumn Foods*

Fruits

Apples

Berries

Dates

Figs

Jicama

Melons

Pear

Persimmon

Plum

Pomegranate

Quince

Vegetables

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrot

Cauliflower

Corn

Cucumber

Daikon Radish

Eggplant

Garlic

Horseradish

Leeks

Lettuces

Okra

Onions

Parsnips

Potatoes (regular and sweet)

Pumpkin

Rutabaga

Shallots

Spinach

Squashes (hard and soft)

Tomato

Turnip

Yam

Grains (cooked)

Barley

Buckwheat

Corn

Millet

Oats

Quinoa

Rice

Rye

Wheat

Beans

Aduki

Black

Blackeye

Carob

Garbanzo

Great Northern

Kidney

Lentil

Lima

Navy

Peanut

Pink

Red

Soy

White

Nuts/Seeds

Almonds

Brazil

Cashew

Filbert

Flax

Macadamia

Pecan

Pistachio

Pumpkin

Sesame

Sunflower

Walnut

*Elson Haas, M.D., Staying Healthy with Nutrition

Tips to Stay Healthy

Because the energy of the Lungs is associated with dispersion, you want to protect your lungs by trying to consolidate as much as possible; adding small amounts of sour foods to our diets as the seasons change can do this. Sour foods contract and hold things in, you can think of the pucker you sometimes get when eating something sour; this is the action these foods have in our bodies. These foods include: olives, pickles, leeks, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, lemons, limes and grapefruit.

• The flavor associated with the season is spicy, but as with anything be cautious not to eat too much, as anything in excess can be damaging to the system.
• The metal element is associated with sharp, well-defined lines, this translates into personalities that are well organized, take advantage of this energy and spend some time organizing this season. It is no coincidence that this is the time of the Virgo.
• The emotion of the season is divided into two parts, one for each organ system. The Lungs are associated with grief and sadness, the Large Intestine with the ability to let go. A healthy combination of these emotions would be expressed in living in the present, feeling and letting old emotions go as they pass through us.
• Great herbs for this time of year include burdock root (excellent for the skin and the liver for detoxifying), ginger root which vents the lungs and is warming, garlic which has anti-viral (also warming), bacterial properties, and Astragalus which is a great immune system builder, if you have high blood pressure be careful with this herb.
• The season is associated with the Lungs and therefore the breath; calm your mind by focusing on your breath and practicing breathing exercises. This just means practice sitting quietly and focusing on your breath entering and leaving your body. Practice abdominal breathing, expanding your abdomen as you inhale and contracting as you exhale.
• Great essential oils to use now are Lavender, Tea Tree, Bergamot and Cedarwood oils – You can use them in a aromatic diffuser, a drop or two will do (you can also put a drop on a light bulb, as it warms the oil will diffuse into the room), use them in a massage oil or as a steam inhalation (cedarwood is particularly good for respiratory infections, about 10 drops to 4 cups of boiling water for a steam).
• Peppermint essential oil is great to limit the ants that want to live with us as the season becomes rainy, a few drops by a windowsill or at their point of entrance will limit this nuisance.
• As always, stay well hydrated....

ENJOY THE SEASON!

References: Staying Healthy with Nutrition, by Elson Haas, http://www.elsonhaas.com/

Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford