Autumn Wellness — TCM Seasonal Food Therapy

Seasonal Food Therapy

Seasonal Recipes

• Rock Sugar Stewed Snow Pear: 1 snow pear, washed; cut off the top as a lid and hollow out the core; place rock sugar inside the pear (red dates and goji berries may be added), replace the lid, and steam or stew in a water bath for 40-60 minutes until the pear flesh is soft; drink the liquid and eat the pear.
• Red Date, Goji, and Tremella Soup: soak the tremella in cold water until expanded, remove the hard base, and tear into small pieces; wash and pit the red dates, place them with the tremella in a clay pot with plenty of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1-1.5 hours until the tremella turns gelatinous; add goji berries and rock sugar and cook for another 5 minutes (lily bulb and lotus seed may be added).
• Lily Bulb, Snow Pear, and Tremella Soup: soak the tremella in cold water, tear into small pieces, and cook in water until soft and glutinous; peel and cube the snow pear, wash the lily bulb, and add them with rock sugar to the pot, cooking until soft; stir in goji berries just before serving.
• Steamed Chinese Yam: peel the Chinese yam, cut into sections, and steam until cooked; serve drizzled with honey or osmanthus honey (Chinese yam is traditionally used to strengthen the spleen, benefit the lung, and nourish the kidney and moisten the lung; suitable for those with weak spleen and stomach).
• Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup: place the pork ribs in cold water and blanch to remove any off odor; peel and chunk the lotus root and slice the ginger, add them to the soup pot with plenty of cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1-1.5 hours; season with salt before serving.
• Almond and Coix Seed Congee: cook almonds and coix seed in a 1:5 ratio into a congee and eat warm (sweet almonds are more moistening and lung-nourishing, and may support those with dry cough without phlegm or chronic cough from lung deficiency).

Wellness Principles

• In daily living, retire early and rise early, rising with the rooster, to gather and restrain the spirit qi in keeping with autumn's "gathering," so that lung qi is clear and the spirit qi is stored; avoid staying up late and lying in bed too long.
• In the emotions, keep the will tranquil and at peace, gather and restrain the spirit qi, and do not let the will go outward; maintain a calm, plain, and quiet state of mind, and avoid autumnal sorrow, depression, and restlessness, so as to soften the impact of autumn's withering qi ("autumn punishment") on the mind.
• Exercise should be gentle and measured, such as climbing to high places and gazing afar, jogging, baduanjin, and tai chi, to ease the emotions and regulate lung qi; avoid heavy sweating that excessively disperses yang qi and fluids.
• In diet, reduce pungent and increase sour flavors, and nourish yin and moisten dryness: eat less pungent and dispersing foods such as scallion, ginger, garlic, and chili, and eat more sweet, moistening foods such as pear, lily bulb, tremella (silver ear), lotus root, honey, and sesame, while moderately increasing sour foods such as apple, pomegranate, grape, and hawthorn to astringe lung qi.
• To guard against dryness and protect yin, drink warm water proactively, in small amounts and frequently (no less than 1.5 liters a day), and keep indoor humidity up to relieve dryness of the mouth, nose, and throat and dry skin.

Understanding the Season

In the three months of autumn (from the Beginning of Autumn to Frost's Descent), the climate turns from heat to cool and from damp to dry. In the five phases of TCM, autumn belongs to metal and corresponds to the lung among the five zang-organs. The Huangdi Neijing, Su Wen, "Discourse on the Four Seasons and the Regulation of the Spirit," says: "In the three months of autumn, this is called 'containing and balancing.' The qi of heaven becomes urgent, and the qi of earth becomes bright... gather and restrain the spirit qi, so that the qi of autumn is balanced; do not let the will go outward, so that the lung qi is clear. This is the response to the qi of autumn, the way of nourishing the harvest." In other words, autumn health preservation values "gathering." Dryness is the ruling qi of autumn, called "autumn dryness"; the lung is the "canopy" that sits above the other organs, is associated with the skin and body hair, opens into the nose, is directly connected with the outside world, and is also a "delicate organ" that prefers moisture and dislikes dryness, so dryness pathogen most readily injures the lung ("dryness injures the lung"). Dryness harms the body mainly by consuming fluids, producing "dryness signs" such as dry mouth and tongue, dry skin, dry cough with little phlegm, dry throat, and dry stools. Dryness is further divided into warm dryness (in early autumn, still warm, with headache, fever, cough with little phlegm, thirst, and dry lips) and cool dryness (in late autumn, turning cool, with aversion to cold, no sweating, and dry cough with thin, clear phlegm). Autumn health preservation therefore centers on nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and nourishing and protecting the lung.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.