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The structure of a diet in TCM evolves with the changing of the seasons. As the environment around us changes from spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, so do our bodies! Because of this fact, cooking the same things we would eat in the dead of winter will not serve us at the height of summer.
Here we have a quick overview of how to eat with the seasons.
**Spring: **
Spring is the return of Yang, the renewal of life that grows out of the thawing ground. Spring is associated with the color green (think of the tender leaves of the new plants) and with the TCM Liver and Gallbladder systems.
Because of this energy of renewal, we should eat the lightest in Spring to allow our own Yang qi to rise.
Focus on eating sweet and spicy foods such as carbohydrates (rice, grains, legumes) as well as young spring vegetables such as carrots and beets.
Foods can be cooked with spices such as basil, fennel, rosemary, and bay leaf. The spicy flavor works to move qi. You will need your qi moving when you go frolicking in the spring meadows!
Limit your intake of heavy foods such as too much meat or too many salty foods.
TCM does not, in general, emphasize raw foods as they are harder for our bodies to pull nutrients out of and their energy tends to be too cold for most people. However, in Spring our bodies are aided by the seasonal rising of Yang so we can eat a little bit more raw and sprouted foods.
For most of our foods in spring, a light steam or a quick sauté is the best cooking method.
Summer:
Summer is the season of utmost Yang, the days are at their longest, people go on vacations and it is hot! Summer is associated with the color red and with the TCM Heart-Mind system. In summer, it is best to eat a varied diet with all the colors of the rainbow present.
Lightly cook or steam your foods and, especially if you live in a hotter environment, use spicy foods to cause a light sweat, it will cool you down!
Although Americans believe that ice cream is perfect on a hot summer day, that is the worst time to eat it! A cold, heavy food like ice cream contracts and slows down your digestion and can make the day feel hotter and more miserable, not to mention the havoc it wreaks on your stomach. Instead, on the hottest days, make a salad to eat in the shade. Make sure to include some watermelon that will rehydrate you as well as some mint or chrysanthemum tea to gently cool down.
Fall:
Fall is a transition time with the Yang of summer moving into the Yin of winter. It is associated with the color white and the TCM Lung-Large Intestine organ system. Here we have the opposite of Spring, the leaves are changing from green to their array of reds, oranges and yellows as the trees pull their nutrients away from the tips of their branches and into their roots to protect themselves from the coming winter.
In the fall we need to help our bodies get ready for the winter by eating more sour foods to draw our resources back in as well as bitter and salty foods to descend our Yang into Yin. Fall is also the opportune time to transition to longer cooking methods such as baking and sauteing.
Some great sour foods to eat includes sourdough bread, pickles, vinegar, and sauerkraut. A little bit of sour goes a long way so there is no need to go overboard on the sour foods!
Bitter foods include watercress, rye, and alfalfa.
Winter:
Winter is the utmost Yin time, an end to the seasonal cycle and a time to draw inwards and reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. This is the best time to build our Yin while maintaining a physical practice that will keep our joints mobile. Winter is associated with the color black and the TCM Kidney-Bladder organ system.
In winter it is best to eat foods cooked for a long time such as root vegetable and meat soups, slow cooked beans and bitter vegetables such as turnip, celery, and asparagus. Baked foods are also great in the winter to warm from the inside.
Just like in the fall, salty foods are great in the winter to draw our Yang inward. However, too much of any flavor can be harmful but, an excess of salt is very typical in the modern American diet and we can all be more mindful of our salt intake.
Credit to Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods for a treasure trove of nutritional knowledge