Summer Fire

I have always held a strong belief in food as medicine and knew that if we took care of ourselves with what we ingest on a daily basis we would take care of over 50% of chronic disease in this country. This led me to herbal medicine and food therapy and getting back to our roots where we are not only in balance within ourselves, but also with nature. I like to call it nature sync.

Nature sync is another way of saying acclimating to the seasons, to the weather and climate we are in will bring us into balance. Living in Houston, we have to adjust to sweltering heat, intense humidity and there are a few things we can do to adjust to the dog days of summer. How many of us bring cardigans and sweaters into offices since even though it may be a blazing outside the A/C can be at over a 30 degree difference causing us relief at first from the sweltering sun, but then we eventually become chilled.

This difference in temperature causes a stress on the body and makes it easier for some to catch the pesky summer cold. When the seasons change it can cause a stress response in the body due to the adjustment, whether it’s warmer, cooler, more dry or damp. Some people have allergies others catch a cold more easily when this occurs. The same thing happens in the body at the cellular and energetic level.

With yin and yang theory, summer time is more yang in nature. More robust, warm, strong, bright, light and creative. The element it is most in tune with is fire. Summer time is a time when you should wake up with the sun and be outside often and use that extra boost of energy to be creative and see your projects through. That is the best way to be in harmony with the natural energy of fire.

Regarding the diet, there is an abundance of variety at this time and one should take advantage! Cook lightly and even add a little spicy, since the spice will disperse the heat in the body to the surface of the skin to be released more readily. When the body intakes spicy food and mirrors the heat present outside then the body will be less affected. Examples of spice in food are red and green hot peppers, cayenne red pepper, fresh ginger, horseradish and black pepper. But one should not overdo spicy for it can weaken the natural yang in the body and the result is not being able to warm itself when the cooler seasons are upon us.

Interestingly enough, one shouldn't overdo the ice cold foods, since cold causes contraction and eating iced drinks and super cold foods will contract the stomach and stop digestion. It is a better idea to eat cool, refreshing foods, such as salads and sprouts, fruit, tofu and flowery or leafy teas such as chrysanthemum, mint and chamomile. Cool vegetables include cucumber, celery and fruits are watermelon, apples, lemons and limes. A traditional Chinese summer heat remedy is mung bean soup or a tea, which helps cool the body down if overwhelmed by the heat.

That's also why it is important to intake plenty of fluids at this time and avoid really rich, greasy foods. They will cause sluggishness and trap the heat inside the body making you feel worse overall. These foods include: meat, eggs, excess nuts, seeds and grains.

It is natural to eat less and lightly on hot, bright days. We force ourselves to eat the same all year round to our detriment. The seasons change and so should we to get ourselves more in balance with Earth's natural rhythms.