Seasonal Eating for Fall

One of the best ways to stay in optimal health through the year is to alter eating habits for each season. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, fall is associated with the lung and colon. Eating foods of certain qualities that support these organs is one way to stay feeling your best.

SOUR FOODS

To help your mind start to focus on the inward nature of fall, it is recommended to add in more sour flavored foods into the diet.

• Sauerkraut

• Pickles

• Olives

• Sourdough bread

• Yogurt

• Citrus fruit

• Plums

• Green Apples

• Rose hip tea

• Vinegar

• Leeks

• Aduki beans

PUNGENT FOODS 

Eating more pungent flavored foods can help protect and cleanse the lungs during fall.

• Hot peppers

• Chilies

• Ginger

• Horseradish*

• Garlic*

• Onions*

• White peppercorn*

• Cabbage

• Daikon*

• Radish*

• Mustard

• Turnip*

*White colored foods are said to be especially good for the lung and large intestine because white is the color associated with it’s Chinese Medicine element, metal.

MUCILAGINOUS FOODS

This food group helps rid of unwanted mucus build-up in the lungs and colon and replaces it with healthy moisture.

• Seaweed

• Kombu

• Marshmallow root

• Flaxseed

BETA-CAROTENE

Vitamin A can help protect our mucus membranes, prevents cancer and helps overall immune health.

• Carrots

• Winter Squash

• Pumpkin

• Broccoli

• Parsley

• Kale

• Turnip

• Mustard Greens

• Watercress

• Barley grass

• Micro-algae

• Blue/green algae; Chlorophyll

FIBER-RICH

Fiber helps the intestine’s function to eliminate waste and maintain healthy bacteria in the gut. High fiber diets have been shown to help cases of constipation, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, and appendicitis.

• Cherries

• Oats

• Carrots

• Beets

• Broccoli

• Lentils

(Healing with Whole Foods; Paul Pitchford 3rd edition)