Food Recommendations
Autumn is always marked by dryness, hence the TCM health term for the season, “autumnal dryness.” The lung controls respiration and associates with the skin and hair. Therefore, when humidity drops, the lung, large intestine, skin, and hair are the first areas to show problems.
Pathogenic dryness consumes yin and therefore can harm you. You might experience the skin and mucosa become tight, lusterless hair, increased dandruff, dry or cracked lips, an excessively dry throat, constipation, etc.
NOTE: If you have a balanced body type, this section is all you will need to read to stay balanced. People with a different body type, read the lesson on your body type to learn what to do differently.
How to do you address this dryness?
Rice congee is more effective for strengthening and moistening the lungs if made with other moistening foods, such as: pears, carrots, sesame seeds, and lily bulbs.
Click here for directions on how to make rice congee.
Other than when making porridge and congee, cook with less water and at a lower heat for longer periods of time. Eating food cooked this way helps internalize your focus.
Taro is similar to potatoes and is a delicious food perfect to balance your body in the autumn.
Add sweet potato to congee, which benefits the spleen and slows the aging process. Avoid adding honey or persimmon to sweet potatoes if you have stomach problems or diabetes.
What else should you add to your diet?
You can also start eating more nuts, seeds, beans, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and seafood to start tonifying (strengthening) yin energy.
A light intake of caffeine, such as from coffee, tea, and chocolate will fortify your breathing.
Restrain from eating pungent foods like ginger and leeks, which many over stimulate your lungs.
Sour Foods
You should eat more sour-tasting foods which are associated with the liver, to fortify the liver so it will not be hurt by the lungs’ hyperactivity in the fall.
Grapes, pomelo, pomegranate, aduki beans, sourdough bread, sauerkraut, olives, rose hip tea, and apple are great choices. Sour foods help organize patterns that have been scattered since the previous winter. They help you focus mentally and begin the process of contraction.
