How to eat for fall and winter health according to TCM

Hello and welcome to the TCM Nutrition Newsletter! TCM stands for Traditional Chinese Medicine and it has so much to teach us about the way we eat each season. We do this so that we keep our immune system in good shape, feel as energetic as possible, and have good digestion.  Today we’ll talk about Autumn and Winter and how to eat for each.

In these sections you’ll find some suggestions. They include specific foods and cooking methods.  You’re invited to follow both. If you’re allergic or you don’t like something on the list, find a new favorite in the list. A goal is to have even one or two servings a day among your other foods.

In Autumn, the air gets drier and so do our skin and nasal passages. This is important because they are the first line of defense against germs! So what do we do? We eat warm, moist foods. Soups and stews are perfect for this time of year. When we cook vegetables, tossing them with a little bit of olive oil and herbs and seasonings and then pan roasting them in the oven is perfect. It’s also a great method of cooking when you have a lot of other things going on in the kitchen since they’re usually in there for around 20 minutes or so.  

A medicinal fall food recommendation: Asian pears. They look more like a golden apple and aren’t as sweet as their American counterparts. You can dice one up, cook it in some water for about 10 mins and then eat/drink the whole thing or just put them in with vegetables in soups. Pears help with dry nose/throat. Regular pears help, too…there’s a reason they’re in season in the fall!  

We’re looking to add in white, yellow, and orange foods; cooked in a long, slow manner to add warmth and keep moisture.  Your crock pot can really shine in Autumn.

Examples: Cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, garlic, water chestnut, leeks. Also, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, parsnips, oats, golden kiwi, apples, honey. Limit dry foods such as crackers and chips.

For Winter, we shift just a tiny bit. Winter is a time of energy conservation and storage—those hibernating bears know what they’re doing!  We go deeper and eat lots of root vegetables, seeds, nuts, and black-colored foods.  Some examples are: scallions, garlic, carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, radishes, cooked cabbage, yams, tangerines, apples, black beans, walnuts, black sesame, black pepper, turmeric, sunflower seeds, bone broth, rye bread, black rice, goji berries, miso, ginger. Avoid: Iced or cold drinks, raw foods, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon.

(Again, if you have been told by your doctor not to eat any of these due to diverticulitis or allergies, follow that advice.)

Some general TCM food advice for good health that applies all year:

Only sip very small amounts of warm or room temperature liquid during your meals so you don’t dilute your digestive juices. If you chew your food very well, you won’t need to wash it down.  Drinking for hydration can happen in between meals.

Fill your stomach no more than 2/3 full at any meal.

90% of your food should be cooked, even if only lightly steamed, for best digestion.

Eat what’s in season—-that’s often the least expensive, too!

Thank you for taking the time to check out this ancient and unique perspective on seasonal eating and how it can improve your health. Many blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer Glynn, MAcOM, Dipl. OM (NCCAOM), LAc.