Embrace the Seasonal Transition...A Mingling of Seasons
This period, where summer's warmth mingles with autumn's coolness, can bring about feelings of fatigue and being off-kilter. East Asian Medicine (EAM) provides insight into these changes, attributing them to the shifting dynamics of yin and yang.
Before incorporating EAM into my life, I too felt the late-summer blues. But simple dietary changes can combat these feelings. Watermelon, mung beans, and cucumbers can alleviate summer discomforts, while the advent of Fall encourages warmer meals such as stews, soups, and roasted veggies.
A Little Tip: As temperatures vary, consider dressing in layers and wearing a scarf to ward off chills, ensuring your well-being during this transitional phase.
Eager to explore how East Asian Medicine can enhance your health journey? Email me, and let's discuss the best approach for you.
Learn more about the transition of seasons...
So, why is this happening? Summer is our most yang (warmth, movement, transformation) time of year. Fall begins the shift towards more yin (consolidation, coolness, darkness). There's a "push and pull" of yin and yang, opposing climate conditions, warm-cool and damp-dry, and it is the time of seasonal change. This change of season can mean many things ranging from shifts in weather, shifts in routine, and shifts in the seasons of life.
Even with the daylight growing shorter, it's days like this that reminds us that the summer-heat is still persisting, even as we transition to a more yin period.
In East Asian Medicine, summer-heat, is considered to be one of the external evils that can cause dis-ease during the "dog days of summer." Summer-Heat encompasses a climate at its' hottest hot and/or dampest damp (think about those hot boggy August days or heatstroke...). We often consider associated summer-heat symptoms to include fatigue, confusion, sweating or lack of sweating (dehydration), muscle cramps, nausea/vomiting, heavy limbs, poor appetite, diarrhea.
I used to experience many of these symptoms before using East Asian Medicine (focused on acupuncture, herbs, and diet) to tackle my summer blues and feeling so uncomfortable during this hoy and humid time.
Summer into Fall Eating: Watermelon is one of the best and easiest ways to use diet to help alleviate summer-heat. You can eat it or make juice (best to consume at room temperature and in moderation). Mung beans (sprouts, congee), cucumbers (local vegetables; ideal at room temp or quickly/lightly cooked), plums and peaches, warm water/tea (peppermint, chrysanthemum, chamomile, lotus leaf), etc.
You can begin to adjust your diet with the changing temperature, humidity, and to support any shifts in your routine (this includes meal planning). Add warmth back into your diet and begin to phase out cold/raw foods: fire your oven back up to roast and bake, eat warm, earthy foods such as squash. Stews, soups, bone broths, are great options. Moderation.