It's time to turn on the slow cooker and start making more soups. My bowl of butternut squash and ginger soup balances the energy of autumn - it is warming not only in physical temperature, but also in tCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) food energetics. What does this mean and how does this support my digestion?
Imagine your stomach contents as a soup like mixture of gastric juices and broken down food. This is called chyme and it likes to be kept at blood temperature. Digestion in your stomach functions best when supported by your dietary choices - including foods and drinks (also medicines, but that's for another day).
the physical temperature of the food you eat: out the fridge, room temp, warm, hot
the energetic temperature of the food you eat: for example cucumber is Cooling, lamb is Hot
In Autumn as the cool Yin grows, the Yang heat of late Summer wanes. TCM interprets humans as microcosms of nature. We therefore fare better when we follow it's rhythms and seasons (this is harder these days with our artificial environments and the unseasonal availability of most foods in our supermarkets).
In Summer more Cooling foods like salads may help balance out the heat of summer. However, in the cooler months they may deplete an already fatigued digestive system.
As Autumn is the season to prepare for Winter now is the time to introduce more warming cooking techniques such as roasting, stewing, casseroling etc. and also more warming and nourishing foods. Try and choose foods for the energetic effect they have to support your body's Qi, Blood and circulation. For my soup I have selected:
butternut squash: nourishes Yin and Qi
ginger: warming
onions: warming, affect the Lung energy
garlic: warming, promotes the circulation of Qi and Blood
cinnamon: strengthens the Yang
chicken stock: a generally Qi nourishing base (I boil up left-over bones from a roast)
Dietary therapy is a part of a traditional Chinese Medicine treatment plan. We are all unique and the recommendations above are generic. For tailored advice you may book an appoinment.
For further information:
077 88 616 488 info@carlisletherapies.co.uk