Written by: Angela Warburton, B.A., R.Ac., R.TCMP
We live in a culture and time when we have so much available to us, yet we live in a place with seasons and very different temperatures throughout the year. Somehow with all our access foods from around the world and a lifestyle that keeps us going at the same pace year round, we’ve lost sight of the need to vary our lifestyle and diet according to the seasons.
Long ago, we didn’t have a choice as to what we ate and had no choice other than vary our diet to what was available. As much as that might seem like a bore, there is actually a lot of wisdom and healthy benefits to modifying our diet and lifestyle according to the time of year.
The different foods available in the various seasons offer unique nutrients and properties (like warming or cooling) according to when they are grown. They take on the characteristic of the season (winter squash and root vegetables are more warming than the summer foods like watermelon or cucumber). It’s nature’s way of balancing us out and keeping us strong. When we focus on local seasonally grown foods were really giving our body what it needs the most at that time.
And yet, we so often eat the same foods year round. More often than not, this looks like more cooling summer foods (fruits and vegetables like salad or foods grown in the tropics (a very hot and humid environment) like bananas eaten year round). When we do this over long periods of time, we can actually throw our body off balance and make it work harder to stay warm or digest nutrients. A classic example of this is the frozen smoothie or glass of ice water in mid January when it’s -15 outside. Why would we put frozen things inside when we’re really just trying to stay warm?!
By changing our diet according to what’s available in the season and how we want to feel (warmer/cooler), we’re helping our body do it’s job easier.
The same with our lifestyle, we should be conserving energy in the winter and perhaps sleep a bit more (our own version of hibernation that plants and animals naturally do), but then when the warmer temperatures and longer days hit, it’s natural to have more energy to expend and have a more active energetic lifestyle.
So often we try to maintain the same schedule year round but it’s unrealistic and sometimes does us more harm than good when we try to push through instead of listening to the natural rhythms of our bodies and nature.