Food as Medicine: The Winter Season
Food has been a part of Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. The movement within Western Medicine referred to as “Food as Medicine” is just beginning to look at what Eastern medicine has known about all along. That food, when chosen correctly for our constitution, holds the power of sustaining health and fighting off disease. However, in Chinese Medicine nutrition is not viewed through a biochemical lens, but through an energetic one. This energetic view looks at the different qualities, including the flavor and thermal nature that a particular food has on the body and aims at achieving balance above all else. It is also an inherent aspect of Chinese Medicine to look towards nature and its seasons for guidance to live a life in health, harmony, and balance. If you are interested in learning more, book an appointment here.
Winter is the most Yin time of year.
This Yin quality corresponds to winter’s shorter and darker days, colder temperatures, and longer nights. Outside nature is very still in winter. The water in the lakes and rivers freeze over, the animals are in hibernation, and the plants are all dormant underground. Nature seems to be asleep, and we should take this cue to get more rest during the winter season. Winter is the season to slow down our lives, to be more still, reflecting on the previous year as we spend more time indoors relaxing.
Eating in the Winter Season.
The winter season is cold, dry, light, windy, rough, and hard, so the foods we choose to consume should overall be nutritive, warming, grounding, soft, and moistening to the body. We should reduce cold, dry, and hard foods. Raw fruits and vegetables, along with cold and frozen foods should generally not be consumed during the winter season. The energy in these types of foods is yin in nature and cold in temperature, and therefore may harm the digestive system and the warmth-giving Yang Qi if over done during the winter. Flavors to enjoy include naturally sweet , sour, salty, and some bitter.
The ideal ways to cook foods during winter season include steaming, stir-frying with water, stewing (boiling, as in soup), and baking. Most vegetables should be lightly cooked. For weaker digestion, grains should be cooked soupy, with more water and cooking time. Favor cooked, protein-rich meals, especially soups and stews.
Chinese nutrition recommends eating whole grains at 20%-40% of the diet, freshly prepared vegetables at 40% of the diet, cooked fruits at 10% of the diet, beans/seeds/nuts at 10-20% of the vegetarian diet, and less for the meat-eaters diet, and all animal products, including meat at no more than 10% of the diet.
Favorable Winter Foods.
Black colored foods, including black beans, black soybeans, black sesame seeds/tahini, black rice, and black mushrooms.
Starchy vegetables, including sweet potatoes, parsnips, beets, carrots, and winter squash. Butternut squash is great.
Cold weather greens, including kale, collard greens, chard, and artichokes, plus sea vegetables and seaweed. (Balance the bitter flavor of greens with cooked grains or root vegetables). Water Chestnuts are good to balance the heat and phlegm that can accumulate in winter, and are considered sweet and nutritive.
Moist grains, including brown/red/black rice, rice noodles, and oats, cooked with a little extra water.
Rich oils, such as ghee and sesame oil.
Raw, or home-roasted seeds and nuts and nut butters.
Sweet or heavy fruits which bring moisture and building qualities, including oranges, bananas, dates, figs, apples, papayas, mangoes.
Proteins such as green/red lentils, black beans, tofu, eggs, and most meats.
Warming spices, including cinnamon, ginger, garlic, cumin, fennel, cardamom, black pepper, chilies, and vinegars (in moderation).
Unrefined sweeteners, including maple syrup, raw honey, and molasses.
Salty flavor from foods like miso and seaweed are especially good in the winter season. The salty flavor is the flavor that resonates with winter and the water element.
Foods to reduce.
Dry foods, such as chips, crackers, and grains such as barley, millet, and rye.
Raw foods.
Cold foods, including dairy products.
Fruits and vegetables that are not in season (for example, melons).
When we follow the rhythm of nature, we choose a diet that reflects the seasons.
I hope that this gives you some insight and direction towards eating in the winter season. Above all else, a varied diet and balance are key, as well as eating for your correct Chinese Medicine constitution. If you would like help discovering your Chinese Medicine constitution, I encourage you to book an appointment with me, or with a practitioner in your area. This can be empowering information to understand about yourself, and can really get you going in the right direction with food.
I often like to remember what a Japanese teacher once said to me. “In doing your best, 80% is good enough, and good enough is good enough.” Let’s keep this in mind to avoid falling into over-perfectionism with our diets and to keep the joy of eating alive.
