Autumn is in full swing, so it is important to change your diet accordingly in order to protect your lungs, boost your immunity, and promote your health! The most important rule in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is to follow the rhythms of the Earth, which means changing our lifestyle and dietary habits with the seasons. Autumn is a dry time of year, associated with the Metal element (Lung and Large Intestine), and the movements of this season are downward and inward. We need to consume foods that moisturize (Yin nourishing foods), protect the Lungs, and have this same downward and inward energy. We also need to consider the Spleen and Stomach this time of year. As you will see, we need to consume higher amounts of fats right now and in order to break down, absorb, and assimilate fats, our digestion (TCM organs Spleen & Stomach) needs to be in optimal condition. Here are some guidelines to help you build your health during the Autumn season:

1. Eat foods that nourish your Yin. This includes:
   1. Whole grains that have been soaked overnight, especially millet & sticky rice
   2. Hawthorn berries, lily bulbs, loach, red dates, & American ginseng
   3. Cooked apples, pears, grapes, and small amounts of banana
   4. Sesame seeds, walnuts, and peanuts
   5. Chinese yam, white fungus
   6. Honey and small amounts of organic sugar cane
   7. Cook foods longer and slower, such as crock pot cooking
2. Eat moderate amounts of pungent foods to nourish the Lungs. Moderate amounts strengthen the lung functions, while too much will lead to imbalance. Examples of pungent foods:
   • Garlic, ginger, chili pepper, onion, scallion, curry, cinnamon, mint
   • Radish, horseradish, brussel sprouts
3. Eat white foods every day. The color of the Metal element is white and during that element’s time, you want to eat foods that correspond to their color. Some examples are:
   • Lotus seeds, lotus root, lily bulbs
   • Chinese yam, Chinese barley, sticky rice
   • White radishes (also pungent), potatoes
   • White bean, eggs, milk, fish, chicken
   • Water chestnuts, onion, garlic
   • White fungus (button mushrooms), almond
   • Winter melon, pear
   • White chrysanthemum flowers, white sesame seed
4. Eat foods to “Tonify and Move Qi”. This will prevent blockages of Qi, therefore preventing imbalance and dis-ease in your body. Examples of this are:
   • Congee for breakfast (see recipe below)
   • Potatoes, Chinese yam, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, spinach
   • Beef, coconut meat, chestnuts, walnuts, shrimp, eel
   • Mushrooms, chives, hawthorn berries
   • Sticky rice
   • Chinese herbs: Chinese dates, longan, ginseng, astragalus, and lotus seeds
5. Limit bitter foods to protect the Lung. Examples of bitter foods to reduce are:
   • Broccoli rabe (rapini), bitter melon
   • Lettuce, arugula, mustard greens
   • Coffee, turmeric, tea leaf
6. Eat foods to “Tonify the Spleen & Stomach” or in other words, repair the digestion:
   • Orange and yellow foods in general
   • Pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potatoes
   • Whole grains (soaked overnight to break down the phytic acid)
   • Congee
   • Easy to digest foods (Never eat raw or cold foods!)

 
     With all the above rules and foods in mind, here are some recipe ideas to help you get started and incorporate these foods into the Autumn season! These recipes are from Tracy Huang’s book, “Healthy Eating: Traditional Chinese Medicine- Inspired Health Eating Guides for All Four Seasons” and with her permission, I am sharing them with you! They have been slightly modified for the American diet. Tracy has done a lot of magnificent work in the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine and her focus is dietary therapy. I highly recommend her books, which all can be found on Amazon here. If you want to stay up to date on more of Tracy’s work, this is her website: http://www.mydietmenuplan.com/
 
Peanut Congee- congee is a great breakfast option in general. (This particular congee relieves coughs, moistens the Lungs and throat, and reduces phlegm)
¼ c. raw peanuts
½ c. rice
3 c. purified water
Wash peanuts and rice then add to water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 50 minutes then serve.
 
Scallion Congee (eat at first sign of a cold for a perfect home remedy)
¼ c. scallions
½ c. rice
3 c. purified water
1 T. coconut oil
Himalayan salt
Wash rice, add to water, then bring to boil. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add scallions and salt, then simmer for 3 more minutes. Turn off heat then add coconut oil to congee, stir, and serve.
This recipe is great if you get sick, as scallions “Expel Wind-Cold”
 
White Radish Mushroom Soup (improves immunity, tonifies the Lungs, relieves constipation, reduces phlegm, recovers digestion)
2 c. white radishes, chopped small
10 dried mushrooms (soaked overnight in 2 c. water)
3-4 slices ginger
¼ c. cilantro, chopped into small pieces
3 t. coconut oil
4 c. purified water
Himalayan salt to taste
Wash the mushrooms then soak them overnight (about 8 hours). Add the mushrooms along with the water they were soaking in, the radishes, and another 2 c. of water into a pot. Bring to boil. Add ginger in and then simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat then add the oil, salt, and cilantro. Mix well and serve.
 
Spinach Sesame Dish (boosts metabolism, improves immunity, slows aging process, moisturizes the body, clears internal heat, and builds blood)
8 c. baby spinach
2 T. white sesame seeds
4 c. purified water
Himalayan salt to taste
2 t. sesame oil
2 t. organic butter
Sauté the sesame seeds with the butter until they turn golden. Place seeds aside for later. Bring water to a boil, place spinach in, and turn heat to medium low and cook until spinach soft. Drain spinach and place on plate. Mix in white sesame seeds, salt, and uncooked sesame oil. Stir well and serve.
 
White Cabbage Dish (stimulates bowel movements, repairs digestion, relieves cough, nourishes Kidney Qi, moisturizes the skin)
4 c. Napa cabbage, sliced
2 organic eggs
2 T. almonds, chopped
2 T. walnuts, chopped
2 T. Avocado oil
2 T. Olive oil
Wisk eggs in a bowl and set aside. Heat the avocado oil to a medium heat and sauté the cabbage for 3 minutes. Add in the salt and nuts and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the egg in and wait 10 seconds to allow it to become solid, and then stir until the egg is completely cooked. Turn off heat, add in olive oil, mix well, and serve.
 
Pumpkin Oatmeal Congee (boosts immunity and repairs digestion)
½ c. old fashioned rolled oats
½ c. rice
4 c. pumpkin (peeled, pitted, and chopped into small chunks)
6 c. filtered water
¼ c. scallions
Himalayan salt
Rinse the rice and put rice and 4 cups of water into a ceramic or stainless-steel pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. While this is simmering, use this time to add pumpkin chunks and 2 cups of water into a blender and blend them into a pumpkin paste, then pour into the congee and (after the 30 minutes) simmer for 10 more minutes. Add oats in and simmer for 15 more minutes. Turn off heat and then add in scallions and 3-4 pinches of salt. Mix well and serve.
 
Rose Tea with Red Dates and Goji Berries (very calming to the mind and nourishes Qi)
5 pieces dried rose buds
5 pieces red dates (pitted)
8 pieces of Longan
10 pieces Goji berries
2 c. filtered water
Bring 2 cups of water to boil then add the above ingredients to the water and simmer for 20 minutes.
 
Mung Bean Pumpkin Soup (boosts immunity, digestion, and skin)
½ c. Mung beans
2 c. Pumpkin (peeled, pitted, and cut into small pieces)
4 c. filtered water
Wash mung beans and add mung beans and 2 cups of water to a pot, bring to boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pumpkin chunks and 2 more cups of water into the soup, bring to boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn of heat and serve.
 
Curry Beef Potato (especially great with any Qi Deficiency pattern of imbalance)
10 oz of 100% grass fed beef
2 c. red or Yukon gold potatoes (cut into small bites)
1 c. tomato (cut into small pieces)
3-4 slices sliced ginger
1 T. garlic
3 T. curry powder
Himalayan salt to taste
1 T Avocado oil
4 c. filtered water (for quickly boiling beef)
4 c. filtered water (for making beef soup)
Add 4 c. of water to pot and bring to boil. Add beef chunks into boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes, drain and set aside beef for later use. Heat avocado oil in frying pan, add garlic and sauté until golden. Add beef and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add 4 cups of water into the pan and bring to boil. Add in potato chunks and simmer for 10 minutes. Add in curry powder and tomatoes and simmer for 5 more minutes. Turn off heat, add 2-3 pinches of salt, mix well, and serve!
 
Ginger Sweet Potato Soup (great for Yang Deficiency pattern of imbalance)
4 oz. ginger juice
2 c. sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into small pieces)
3 c. water
1 T. honey
Add sweet potato chunks and 3 cups water into a pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add in ginger juice, mix well, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat, add honey, then serve.
 
Black Sesame Sticky Rice (great for Yin Deficiency pattern of imbalance)
2 T. Black Sesame seeds
½ c. sticky rice
2 c. filtered water
Himalayan salt to taste
Rinse rice. Add rice and water to pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 40 minutes. Add in black sesame seeds, mix well, and simmer for 5 more minutes. Turn off heat, add in 1-2 pinches of salt, stir well, then serve.
 
Winter Melon Needle Mushroom Soup (great for Damp Heat pattern of imbalance)
2 c. needle mushrooms
2 c. winter melon (peeled and chopped into small chunks)
4 c. chicken stock
Himalayan salt to taste
Cut off bottom of needle mushrooms, rinse them under running water, and drain. Add chicken stock to pot and bring to boil. Add the winter melon chunks and needle mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, add 3-4 pinches of salt, mix well, then serve.
 
Veggie Omelet (great for Qi Stagnation pattern of imbalance)
4 organic eggs
¼ c. chopped onions
½ c. chives
½ c. red bell peppers
1 c. white mushrooms
2 T. avocado oil
¼ c. cilantro
Himalayan salt to taste
Break eggs into bowl, whisk, and then set aside. Heat avocado oil in frying pan. Add the white mushrooms into the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the chives and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Next add the bell peppers and onions and sauté for 3-4 more minutes. Pour egg paste over the veggies, sprinkle in the cilantro, wait for 30-40 seconds, and flip over omelet to cook the other side. Wait for another 30-40 seconds, turn off heat, sprinkle 2-3 pinches of salt on the omelet, and serve.
 
White Radish Tomato Soup (great for Phlegm Damp pattern of imbalance)
4 tomatoes cut into small pieces
1 c. white radishes (peeled and sliced thin)
1 c. filtered water
1 T. miso paste
Add water into small frying pan and bring to boil. Lower heat, add in tomatoes, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add in miso paste and white radish slices, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and serve. (Huang, 2014)
 
These recipes will keep you healthy and prevent disease during the Autumn season! If you need extra support, acupuncture and Traditional Chinese herbs are an excellent addition to your health care routine. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need some support in your life.
 
Happy Autumn!
 
References:
Huang, T. (2014). Healthy eating: traditional Chinese medicine-inspired healthy eating guides for all four seasons plus 240 recipes to restore health, beauty, and mind. United States: Tracy Huang.

     In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the “rules” to promote and protect your health are not complicated, but they are not necessarily easy either. Especially with our busy Western lifestyle and this American diet we have come to consider normal, we can find it tricky to incorporate the suggestions given to us by health practitioners. Some are more critical than others and I would put this “rule” up at the top of the list as critical. This is the 2nd rule of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Do not consume cold foods and drinks, especially ice water!
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     From a TCM point of view, it damages our Spleen Qi. The TCM organ, Spleen, is the Western idea of the digestion. It can be considered the function of the stomach, duodenum, small intestine, and pancreas. The Spleen is in charge of transformation and transportation. It takes the food we eat, breaks it down, absorbs it, creates Qi and Blood from that food, and gets the nutrients and Qi to where it needs to be in our body at a cellular level. This is extremely important! The quality of the Qi, blood, and cells in our body are dependent upon the quality of food we are eating, the air we are breathing, and the emotions we are feeling. However, if we are eating the highest quality food on the planet, but we are not able to break down or absorb that food properly, we are not creating the health in our body that we are striving for.

     So, think of the Spleen as our digestion or digestive fire to simplify things. Our digestion is like the oven in our body. If you throw ice into an oven, it now must work SO much harder to do what it is meant to. The food you have in the oven is going to have to sit in there longer just to get cooked. The same is in our body. If we throw cold foods and beverages into our digestion, our body now must work a lot harder to process and break down the food. It could be using that Qi and energy to perform other much needed tasks in the body, such as detoxification or restoration, but now all that Qi is “spent”. Over time, this depletes our Qi and energy and we can be left with such symptoms as fatigue, feeling tired after eating, bloated, constipation, or loose stools.

     Now let’s look at this issue from a Western medicine point of view. We need HCL (hydrochloric acid or stomach acid) to digest our food, including breaking it down and assimilating it to absorb the nutrients from the food (Champagne, 1989). HCL is secreted when we eat food, which signals stomach cells to secrete pepsinogen, which is a protein digesting enzyme, which then becomes pepsin. HCL also signal the pancreas and small intestine to secrete digestive enzymes and bile and it kills bacteria, yeast, and even parasites that enter our bodies through our food (Bernard, 1995). If HCL or hydrochloric acid levels are low, we have a tough time breaking down our food, especially proteins. This leads to many problems including vitamin and mineral deficiencies, nausea, pain, heartburn, anemia, food allergies, bacterial and yeast overgrowth, bloating, and indigestion just to name a few (Mercola, 2011).

     By now I’m sure you are wondering what causes low HCL? Good question. There are multiple causes, including aging, eating processed foods, antacid use, eating while stressed, and drinking ice water (Saltzman, 1994). This is because cold foods and beverages inhibit or stop the production of HCL and slow down the digestion process overall. If production of HCL is stopped, then the enzymes to break down your food do not get released and over time, you are left with the problems listed above. So PLEASE refuse the ice water when you go out to eat. Instead, ask for a cup of hot water, or even better, a cup of ginger tea, as this increases HCL production. Even so, you only want to sip fluids while you eat because large amounts of any liquid will dilute HCL, pepsin, and other digestive enzymes, making it more difficult to break down your food.

     Other ways to help your digestive fire grow include relaxing before eating. When our bodies are under stress, initially we produce too much HCL, which can lead to ulcers, but over time our body gets exhausted when stress is chronic and eventually HCL is under-produced. So, relax while eating and if you are very extremely upset, worried, angry, or emotional, DO NOT eat at all. Relax your body before you eat, sit with your family at a table, and do not have any electronics or distractions at the table. TVs and cell phones are stress to our bodies and prohibit us to being mindful in the moment while we eat, which can not only hinder social relationships, but also stop us from chewing as many times as we should. Chewing starts the digestive process by secreting enzymes that break down our food, so chewing thoroughly is extremely important and is the first step of digestion.

     You can also add fermented foods into your diet, such as sauerkraut. Fermented foods are unique in the fact they regulate stomach pH. Himalayan salt is also a powerful addition to your diet as it has 84 different trace minerals in it and stimulate HCL production. It is also important to avoid processed foods, such as refined sugar and processed grains, such as flours. Eliminate genetically modified (GMO) foods, additives, dyes, and artificial flavorings and sweeteners, all of which will alter your gastric pH and cause inflammation in your body. Instead, consume whole foods that have not been altered and use natural herbs and spices for flavorings. Make sure you cook all your food, rarely consuming raw or cold foods. Stop eating at 7pm to allow your body time to digest the food to have high quality sleep and prevent food stagnation.
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     If further support is needed, acupuncture and Traditional Chinese herbs can be a powerful addition to promote your health. It is so important to protect and stimulate your health daily. It is the everyday small choices that either foster and restore your health or cause more imbalance and disharmony. You must take responsibility for your health. It is in your hands and you are the only one that can make those changes. However, many people are available, including myself, to support you on your journey to health if you are willing to dive in!
 
 P.S.- check back soon for the 1st rule in TCM! 
 
 
References

Bernard, M. D., Papini, E., Filippis, V. D., Gottardi, E., Telford, J., Manetti, R., . . . Montecucco, C. (1995). Low pH Activates the Vacuolating Toxin of Helicobacter pylori, Which Becomes Acid and Pepsin Resistant. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 270(41), 23937-23940. doi:10.1074/jbc.270.41.23937

Champagne, E. T. (1989). Low Gastric Hydrochloric Acid Secretion and Mineral Bioavailability. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Mineral Absorption in the Monogastric GI Tract, 173-184. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-9111-1_12

Mercola. (2011, January 6). Problems with Digestion? Processed Foods May Be to Blame... Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.mercola.com/

Saltzman JR, Kemp JA, Golner BB, et al. (1994). Effect of hypochlorhydria due to omeprazole treatment or atrophic gastritis on protein bound vitamin B12 absorption. J Amer Coll Nutr 1994;13:584-591.