Seasons in Chinese Medicine

How to live right according to Chinese philosophy - tips for every season

Let me start by saying that I have never been a person of diets, menus, or extreme changes in general. To this day, I am ambivalent about it and mainly believe that changes in diet require a lot of in-depth study and attention to the body, and usually also professional guidance. But out of my belief in seasonal nutrition, there is a certain time of year when it would be right to make some slightly more dramatic changes in our menu, even if it is only for a few days, and that time is in the spring!

"The wise lived according to the laws of nature, and therefore their bodies did not suffer from various diseases, they did not lose anything that nature gave them, and the essence of their lives was never exhausted."

From the book NEI JING. 

Chinese medicine grew out of observing nature and understanding the forces at work in the universe. It is based on the Daoist philosophy, according to which man is an inseparable part of nature, and the laws that operate in nature also occur in his body. This means, in the context of the seasons, that each season has its own character and highlights, such as weather, smell, colors, vegetation, energetic movement, and more. These affect the person who lives in symbiosis with nature. If a person does not live in harmony with all of these, illness may develop.
From a scientific perspective, this balanced state of the body in relation to the outside world is called homeostasis, and there are mechanisms that operate naturally to maintain it. When it's cold, for example, the blood vessels near the skin constrict to keep the internal organs warm. Another thing that happens when it's cold outside and that you may have noticed is excessive urination, which occurs both as a result of the increase in blood pressure (blood vessel constriction), and also so that the body doesn't waste energy on accumulating fluids, but rather uses it for heating.

Winter season:

In winter, nature slows down its activity to preserve its energy reserves. The animal and plant world enters what is called "hibernation," so we should do something similar. Winter is a good time for gathering and introspection, for slowed-down physical activity compared to the other seasons, and for rest in preparation for spring (a season characterized by bursts of energy). It is recommended to go to bed early and wake up late, and engage in moderate physical activity such as warm-up exercises and joint flexibility. The most important thing is to maintain our body heat, and this can be done in a few simple ways: 
Nutrition: It is recommended to eat more than we eat during the rest of the year, and to focus on hot foods that have been cooked for a long time, such as legumes, whole grains, root vegetables, and animal foods.
Drinking warming infusions such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves. It is best to limit infusions and spices with a cooling nature such as mint, spearmint, lemongrass, and geranium. 
Avoid excessive sweating: Keeping your skin pores closed will prevent activities that cool the body. 
In addition to all the warming actions I mentioned, it is also important to occasionally ventilate the house with clean air from outside, and avoid overheating so as not to dry out the body's fluids. You can maintain a slight degree of humidity in the house by using a bowl of water near the radiator. 

Spring season:

According to Chinese medicine, spring is associated with the wood element and the organs liver and gallbladder. 
The tree symbolizes the energy of movement, change, growth, and development. After the gathering brought by winter, in which we gathered strength, reflected on our thoughts, and accumulated ideas - spring comes to motivate and transform all of this into active actions.
The liver is connected to the eyes, it is responsible for smooth blood flow in the body, nourishing the tendons and ligaments, cleansing the blood of toxins, and it participates in activating the immune system.
Emotionally, anger characterizes the wood element and is an emotion that harms the liver. 
When the liver does not work harmoniously during the spring, we can see symptoms such as itching and redness in the eyes, headaches, neck stiffness, menstrual irregularities, outbursts of anger, skin rashes, fatigue with difficulty getting up in the morning, and more.
Liver care in the spring requires physical activity and a seasonal diet that cleanses the liver, such as sprouts and green leaves, which are rich in chlorophyll and antioxidants, lemon, strawberries, ginger, fennel, celery, mint, radishes, and beets. Spring is the ideal time of year to detoxify to shed everything we have accumulated during the winter, cool the body down for summer, and make it easier for the liver to perform its functions.

Summer season:

The time of year when Yang is at its peak - the days are longer, there is a lot of movement, joy, love, communication, growth and fulfillment. In nature, summer is the time when creatures finish developing and reach their peak potential. Along with all this beauty, summer, and specifically the Israeli summer, brings with it heat and humidity that can be difficult for us. Our tendency is to cope with this with air conditioners, cold and bland food, and frozen drinks. These do not contribute much to us and may even be harmful.
Despite our urge to cool our bodies by consuming very cold things, it's important to do so in moderation so as not to harm the "fire" of the digestive system. You know that feeling when you eat too much watermelon and run to the bathroom? Like this!
In the summer, you should avoid very warming foods such as animal protein, oil, lots of salt, fried food, and sugar.
It is advisable not to drink frozen drinks but to consume liquids at room temperature. Regarding fruit, which is fun and important to eat in the summer - it is important to consume it in moderation (1-2 servings of fruit a day) and that it not be a dessert after a meal (a tip that applies to all seasons).
Fruits (in moderation!) - strawberries, watermelon, apricots, cantaloupe, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, passion fruit, mango, pineapple, figs.


Grains - amaranth, quinoa, millet, rice and noodles of all kinds.


Legumes - red lentils, lupins, black beans, tofu, broad beans, kidney beans.
Cooling infusions - Sheba, mint, peppermint, Louisa, Melissa, lemongrass, lemon geranium.

Autumn season:

According to Chinese medicine, autumn marks the transition between the peak of yang and the peak of yin. It is a season associated with the metal element, the lungs and large intestine organs, and a dry climate.
Metal deals with our connection to the outside and what we choose to bring in (through the lungs) and assimilate, or to purge out (through the colon). It begins a movement of gathering, reducing, and cleansing in preparation for the winter season.
To maintain internal health and balance, it is important that we are in sync with the external energy that autumn brings and that we make room during this period for introspection and self-introspection - who I am, what I am, what I choose, and what I release. I recommend that you do all of this with open windows to ventilate the house from the stagnant air of summer and in preparation for the winter insulation. 
The autumn diet should consist of food that captures and contracts our energy and thoughts inward. The sour taste is a contracting taste, so sour foods such as sourdough bread, sauerkraut and pickles, olives, yogurt, rosehip tea, lemons and limes, and green apples are excellent during this season.
Autumn is a season of dryness and coolness, and many people tend to suffer from thirst and dryness of the skin, lips, eyes, nose and throat, and tingling in the dry areas. To prevent this, add foods that moisturize the eyes, such as soy products such as tofu, spinach, pears, apples and persimmons, seaweed, a few peanuts, tahini and honey.