Eating/Living According to the Season (Spring)
•Both spring and autumn are seasons of transition.
• In spring we are transitioning from winter and preparing for summer as opposed to autumn where we are transitioning from summer to winter.
• Spring is a time of detoxification of the organs, especially the Liver and Intestines, getting them ready for lighter, watery, summer foods.
• Spring is a time of inspiration—wanting to get out and do things • Everyone has heard of spring cleaning. The same theory applies to the human body. • In spring we need to eat foods that have an “upward” movement—foods that reawaken the yang energy as that energy has been hibernating throughout the winter.
• Foods that can either be pungent or sweet are the rule of thumb for the spring.
• The liver is the ruler over the spring. It is the root of life’s ultimate action; its condition is revealed in the fingernails and toenails as well as in the muscles.
• The liver has the functions of strategic planning; the gallbladder has the function of decisions and judgments—Indecisiveness is always a gallbladder symptom.
• The morning time of day is governed by Spring; afternoon by Summer; evening by Autumn and night by Winter.
Spring Balance Spring Imbalance
Beginnings Still the same old stuff
Cleaning body, home Excess
Elimination, exercise Congestion, laziness
Garden, greens, sprouts Weeds, “lifeless” foods, drugs
Creativity, enthusiasm Overeating
Suggestions for Springtime Eating and Lifestyle:
• All green leafy chlorophyll laden vegetables including, but not limited, to sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, watercress, kale, spring spinach, chicory, malvas’ and a host of other green vegetables deliberately given to humankind at this time of year to help us “clean up” our bodies.
• Dr.P’s Magic Green Drink is absolutely recommended at this time of year more than other time.
• The sweetness of spring applies by eating fruits such as strawberries other types of fruit in season and natural raw honey.
• Sassafras, peppermint, nettles and comfrey are all excellent herbs used for tea. It has been said that drinking one cup of sassafras tea a day for two weeks can help clean the entire body.
• Introducing more water, into the system but not as much water as is required in summer.
• Detoxification Programs such as the Gallbladder Flush, Stanley Burroughs’s The Master Cleanse and the VE Iron 7 day Intestinal Putrefaction Flush- the purpose of which is to eliminate toxins created by eating heavier winter foods and preparing the body for lighter summer foods.
• Fasting one day a week • Salt scrubs, hot baths, saunas and steam baths.
• Transitioning from meats to vegetables as spring gets closer and closer to summer.
• More and more outdoor activity which helps heal “spring fever”.
The long and the short of all this is that for centuries humankind has lived according to the seasons. In theory, we should only eat foods that grow 500-700 miles around us. The foods in this area are specific to the environment. We cannot do this 100%. After all, many of us drink coffee and it does not grow in any region of the US. However, we can do the best we know how by putting our best foot forward and paying attention.
The Universe makes no mistakes—Humankind is another story!!