With the arrival of fall we say goodbye to the warmth of summer and move into the cooler months of the year.
Transitions like this can be stressful on the body and it is a good idea to lighten its load by letting go of stored toxins and compromising eating habits and thereby boosting our vitality and immunity.
Fall is the time to flush out the excess heat from the summer and prepare our bodies and minds for the winter.
By simplifying your food intake for a period of time you can stave off seasonal colds, keep your immune system strong, and prepare your organs for the colder months ahead.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine fall is the time to take good care of our large intestine and lungs.
Both organs play an important role in the detoxification of our bodies.
In the time of Covid 19, this is especially important.
In both alternative and conventional medical theory, these organs are linked to skin and breathing problems like eczema, rashes, dry skin, asthma and congestion – all common predicaments that ail us in the colder months.
A week of eating seasonal clean whole foods is a great way to support your large intestine and lungs, to boost your energy levels and strengthen your immunity.
What are clean whole foods?
Clean whole foods are foods produced in collaboration with Mother Nature.
They are grown without pesticides, do not come with an ingredient list, contain no additives and are minimally processed.
This also includes high quality cold pressed oils and fats.
Stay away from factory processed or prepared foods.
Cook and make your own meals.
Not only will you know exactly what goes into them, but you have the opportunity to also infuse your food with your own loving and caring energy.
Watch out for questionable processing done to food
Stay away from white sugar, stripped of nutrients and vitamins during processing.
Besides being an empty food with lots of calories, it has a detrimental effect on our immunity.
It triggers the excretion of B vitamins and most minerals.
Eating sugar therefore can lead to the depletion of the body and thus sets the stage for all kinds of illnesses.
For up to 5 hours after eating sugar, it destroys the germ-killing ability of our white blood cells and reduces the production of antibodies.
It literally paralyzes our immune system.
Stay away from foods that have unwanted non-food items added to them.
The ingredient list contains words that you cannot pronounce or define.
These could be any number of chemicals, preservatives, dyes, toxic taste enhancers, artificial flavors or fillers.
Words and initials to look out for and avoid are nitrates or nitrites, sulfites, potassium bromate, mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), BHA, BHT, and TBHQ.
When you see the words fortified, enhanced or enriched on the package, or when vitamins are listed among a food’s ingredients, be suspicious.
The product has most likely been stripped of essential nutrients during processing and then supplemented with artificial nutrients to compensate for the loss.
White flour and white flour products belong to that grouping.
Please note, that artificial vitamins, produced in laboratories and then added to various products, are never an adequate replacement for the natural nutrients stripped in processing.
Be wary of sugar-free and diet products.
It only means that sugar has been replaced by artificial sweeteners.
Those are nerve toxins and have no business in our bodies.
Avoid questionable oils/fats such as refined and deodorized oils: generic vegetable oils, taste- and odorless supermarket oils, such as corn oil, soy oil, sunflower oil and canola oil.
Stay away from hydrogenated oils such as margarine and vegetable shortening.
High pressure and high temperatures are used to hydrogenate oils to create margarine.
This renders the original oil rancid and turns its color grey.
In further steps this grey mass is then deodorized with chemicals to remove the bad smell.
Then they are bleached to remove the grey coloring.
And lastly, a yellow dye is added to make it look more butter-like.
What to eat?
Feed your body foods that are vibrant and minimally processed – all clean foods are just that.
Your body craves these foods and recognizes them as a good fit.
They will provide you with plenty of energy, even blood sugar levels and a good mood.
In addition, you will enjoy great concentration, excellent mental capacity, a well-functioning happy body, clear skin and strong bones.
Furthermore: these nutrient-rich foods do not put on the pounds.
Instead, they allow you to let go of some extra weight without having to starve or deprive yourself, without having to go on a diet.
Eat mostly seasonal vegetables, lettuces, herbs, mushrooms, whole grains, legumes, fruit and berries.
You could go vegetarian or vegan for a week.
If you include dairy, make sure it stems from grass-fed cows.
Prefer cultured dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, buttermilk or sour cream to plain milk and cream.
If you include eggs in your diet, make sure they are organic and free range.
If you enjoy fish, chicken or meat, have it less frequently and make sure it is wild caught, free range, grass fed and free of antibiotics.
Whether you are an omnivore or vegetarian, allow vegetables, especially root vegetables, to take center stage this fall.
The direction of growth in root vegetables is down.
For that reason, root vegetables give us a grounded, centered feeling.
The fall harvest is also rich in berries, fruits and leafy greens – incorporate more of these vibrant foods into your diet and stay away from all processed foods for a while.
Take a week to simplify your food.
Take a pause on white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour, gluten containing grains such as wheat, rye, barley and oats, as well as caffeinated beverages and alcohol.
Incorporate cooked intact whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet and buckwheat.
Have some hearty bean, pea or lentil soups.
Here is a list of some wonderfully cleansing fall foods – choose from among these:
• apples
• pears
• beans
• beets
• leafy greens like bok choy, kale, collards, swiss chard
• broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• cabbage
• carrots
• cauliflower
• celery
• cranberries
• garlic
• leeks
• lettuce
• lingonberries
• parsnips
• pumpkin
• rutabaga
• sea buckthorn berries
• sweet potatoes
• winter squashes
By eating delicious seasonal foods from the rich autumn harvest, foods that are naturally mineral rich and nourishing, you provide your body with the perfect inner ecology for healing, repairing and rebuilding on a deep cellular level.
At the same time your body is gently nudged into purging toxins and metabolic waste.
Benefits you can expect include a boost in energy level, a surge of mental clarity, an end to sugar cravings, glowing skin, less congestion, less inflammation, a sensation of lightness and internal cleanliness, a new pattern of healthful eating and the loss of some body fat.
Marika Blossfeldt
https://marikab.com/cookbook/
