As Spring has now definitely arrived, I would like to share some Chinese medicine seasonal dietary wisdom. In the Classical Chinese texts, it is the time year to take ‘brisk walks’ and ‘rise with the sun’. The energy of Spring is full of life pushing up and out, like the green shoots which are finally emerging after the long winter.
Spring is the time of year to think about our liver and gall bladder. Our body has a natural instinct now to cleanse itself with lighter meals or fasting after the heavier foods and fats it needed in winter. We should favour foods which have the ascending and expansive qualities of Spring such as fresh greens, sprouts, edible weeds and young vegetables, perhaps thinned from the allotment! Pungent cooking herbs such as fennel, dill, rosemary, bay leaf and caraway seeds are also favoured.
At this time of year, a small amount of raw food can be eaten but is not suitable for people with bowel inflammation or the elderly or weak. Raw foods are cleansing and cooling and in Ayurveda are termed as “vatic” as they encourage movement and quickness. As our climate is still quite cool, the majority of our food should still be cooked but for shorter lengths of time and at high temperatures, like steaming and stir frying for example. In my last post I shared a delicious wild garlic, nettle and dulse soup recipe which has all the energetic qualities of Spring for you to enjoy, click here for the recipe.
Charlotte Johnston Acupuncture 