Why do we cheat on ourselves?
As I was writing this weekend, my ten-year old son approached my desk and said he had “a confession”. That always peaks a mother’s interest. He said, “I was really looking forward to my friend’s slumber party so I could celebrate by having cake and soda. Then I realized that it might be a dumb thing to do, celebrating by putting garbage in my body.” Out of the mouth of babes comes the truth!

Fanaticism in any pursuit, including our diet, would be against Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principals and guidelines, but we do reach a new level of gratitude, awareness, and health when we relish all our nutrient-rich meals and don’t look forward to cheating on ourselves as a reward for all the good we’ve done prior.

In this article, Part III in our series Eating with the Season, we’ll look at what TCM nutrition recommends as the best foods to eat in summer for those wanting to reward themselves with the most appropriate, nurturing foods possible. But first, let’s take a look at this time we call summer.

Summer time = Fire Time

The sun emits short-wave radiation that enters the Earth’s atmosphere in the form of UV (ultra- violet), visible light, and infrared radiation. In the Northern Hemisphere, summer occurs in June, July, and August and that is the time when we experience the longest and warmest days of the year—more hours of and more intense radiation than any other time of year. Thus, the word most associated with summer in TCM is “heat”. In 2008, our longest day will be June 20 (but that won’t be the hottest day—since temperature lags heat input). In Texas, the hottest day on record was 120 degrees on August 12, 1936, and August is the month we usually experience the most extreme heat.

We see the obvious affects of heat in our external world: grass seems to grow a-foot-a-minute and then burns to a crispy brown; trees at the extreme of their energy expansion are heavy, laden with fruit; and animals of all kinds reduce their energy output and flock to shade and watering holes.

With our air conditioners and iced tea, humans believe we’re less subject to the effects of sum-mer, but TCM acknowledges our place in nature and how people are also strongly affected by the seasons, and in this case, the effects of summer heat.

Summer Afternoon

Our “Fire Element” and its organs, the heart and small intestine, are associated with and strongly affected in summer. The emotion associated with the heart is joy, and with the expansion of energy and increased circulation and heat of summer, we can experience joy in the desire to spend more time outdoors, more time playing with friends and family, and by completing projects started in spring. To test the point, just say the word “summer” to a friend and ask them what comes to mind!

The Effects of Summer Heat
Summer heat occurs from the combination of heat and humidity of summer and manifests in an uprising and spreading out of the body’s internal heat, causing thirst, red face, headache, heat stroke, allergies, digestive upset, sluggishness, heart palpitations, and many other ailments. People with excess heat in the body are often irritable, impatient, and restless.

What to Eat to Beat the Heat
Perhaps the first thought when eating to counter summer heat would be: eat all the cold you can. While cold foods are on the list, it’s not that simple.

Excess of any kind in TCM leads to disharmony and ailments. In general, lighter foods that are cooling and easy to digest are at the top of the menu in summer. This list includes eating fruits, greens, grains, legumes, and drinking room-temperature or warm herbal teas (not hot and not iced). Some of the recommended herbal teas are mint, chrysanthemum, and hibiscus; and green tea is a cooling, refreshing summer drink, as well.

Meats, particularly beef and lamb, are very warming and should be significantly reduced or avoided in summer. Alcohol, frozen foods, hot spices, and fried greasy foods are not going to do you any favors either. Texans sure do love to sit in the summer sun with chips & salsa and a frozen margarita, but take heed: that’s a recipe for southern dis-comfort. Why not frozen drinks? Though they are cold, the body must increase metabolic action to digest them and the net result is more internal heat. An excessive amount of cooling foods can harm digestion and lead to reduced immunity, fatigue, and loose stool. While they are on the list, don’t over-do salads, raw foods, or juices and smoothies.

Two foods at the top of the list for beating summer heat are watermelon and mung beans. Since everyone is familiar with watermelon, we’ll just add one point here. TCM does not recommend excessive juice consumption, but big fans of juicing recommend that you include the rind to take advantage of the great nutrients in watermelon.

In the States, many people are unfamiliar with mung beans, and since they are one of the most valuable gems in our TCM culinary treasure, below you will find an introduction and a few delicious ideas for preparing them. Mung beans are small, round, and have a green skin and yellow inside. They are eaten whole, split, hulled, with skin on, and sprouted. They are used in TCM to quench thirst, detoxify, and clear heat. They are native to India and if not in your local grocery, they can be found in Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian grocery stores as Moong Dal.

How to Prepare Mung Beans
There are dozens of easy, quick combinations to make a delicious meal of whole mung beans. They do not require soaking and can be boiled or cooked in a pressure cooker. If you boil them, use 3 cups of water for every 1/2 cup of beans and cook for 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally while cooking and add water if necessary. If foam forms while cooking, skim off and discard. Your beans are done. That’s faster than getting in the car and fetching fast-food!

You can now do one of hundreds of things such as:

• Add cooked white or brown rice (1:1 or 2 parts rice to 1 part beans)
• Add any of these chopped herbs: parsley, cilantro, rosemary, sage, thyme, tarragon
• Add chopped and steamed greens (spinach is especially tasty)
• Add spices such as turmeric, cumin, and coriander. These can be lightly sautéed in a small amount olive oil or ghee (clarified butter) to release the flavor and then poured over the bean mixture.

What to Eat in Autumn
Come autumn, our energy will begin receding back into the body and our focus will turn from the heart to the organ of fall—the lungs. Foods that have an “inward” energy and that support the lungs are recommended. To find out what those are, look for the fall issue of The Holistic Networker and Part IV of our series, Eating with the Season. If you missed Part II in the series that offered a TCM nutrition guide for spring, visit: holisticnetworker.com/wp/234/

These are general guidelines for people in a state of balance and good health. Though season is considered, when there is any disharmony, a person’s individual constitution and current state take precedence over time of year when making food recommendations.

Allison Ellis is a Certified TCM Nutritionist and can be reached at 626.497.9195

The public has been misinformed to believe that vegetable oils are more beneficial that natural, saturated fats. Nothing could be further from the truth. The process of pressing vegetable oils has nothing to do with nature. Your oils are most likely oxidized, rancid, and wreaking havoc on your cardiovascular system.

This video is in no way suggesting that you stop taking your cholesterol meds. It is a presentation of well-researched and seldom-heard information. The intention is to motivate you to look for yourself.

by Allison Ellis

If it’s good for you, isn’t it good for you all the time?

In Part I of our series, Eating with the Season, we discussed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Nutrition principles, stating that the foods we eat all have specific energetic properties (cooling, heating, descending, dispersing, etc.) and can strongly affect specific organs. Eating foods with energetic properties that compliment the season of year and that support the organ of that season, year after year, has a direct impact on the quality of our life and even our longevity.

Readers of the Holistic Networker already know that a body struggling to regenerate itself for decades on glazed donuts (even if they are “fortified with 10 essential vitamins and enhanced with green tea extract”) and microwave TV dinners (even if they are “low-fat, rich in omega-3s, and naturally flavored with essence of goji berries”) is going to have a more difficult go at it than one fed a real, whole-food diet. However, you may be unaware of the fact that foods considered wonderful for the body at one time of year would be strongly advised against or even considered harmful at another time of year.

In Tune with Nature

We also discussed in Part I that the human body, even if we are unaware of it, responds to the seasons just as other animals and plants. We identified similar seasonal patterns in trees and human beings: in autumn the energy of a tree retreats from the branches causing leaves and fruit to fall; and in winter, the energy is in its greatest retraction deep in the roots. According to TCM principles, the kidneys are the roots of the human body and where the energy is greatly concentrated in winter. During the winter, our activities and the food we eat should support and protect that energy storage to properly prepare us to move into the next season—spring.

In the Chinese calendar, the New Year is not a fixed date, but is on the second new moon after the winter solstice, and this year it occurred on February 18. The timing of this celebration of the New Year is no accident and is actually quite appropriate…it is when the energy for the earth and all its creatures is getting ready to burst forth from its winter hibernation.

Springtime = Liver Time

While the focus in winter is on energy storage and the kidneys, the focus in springtime is cleans- ing and the organ is the liver. From a Western perspective, the liver is a brownish-red organ that performs over 1,000 known tasks including filtering and storing blood, producing proteins, making and storing vitamins, metabolizing carbohydrates and lipids, storing nutrients, aiding in digestion, and filtering toxins. From a TCM perspective there is no separation of physical health and mental health, and every organ is closely associated with and affected by particular emotions. The liver, called the “seat of happiness”, is responsible for creative energy and “will”, and is strongly affected by anger. When a person is balanced and happy, energy will flow freely through the liver and body, furthering health. When a person is angry and blocked, or eating an improper diet, the energy of the liver will stagnate, causing a wide range of unpleasant issues including: frustration, depression, irregular menstruation, digestion problems, abdominal distention, lumps in the neck, breast, or groin, and many more. All to say…it’s a great idea to take care of your liver and this is the season to really nurture it!

Caring for the Liver

The liver naturally tends toward “heat” because of the tasks it carries out. When filtering blood, it stores excess toxins to protect the rest of the body, but when the burden is heavy, the liver itself can become damaged. “Dampening” and “heating” foods are to be avoided in spring. This list includes:, caffeine (excessive coffee and black tea), chocolate, sodas , alcohol, sugar, dairy, spicy and fried foods, iced drinks, frozen foods, soy and flour products, heavy and salty foods.

Foods that are light, cooling and detoxifying support the liver in spring, and this list includes: dark leafy greens such as chard, kale, mustard, collard, young spring greens and sprouts, watercress, dandelion, pungent herbs such as basil, fennel, rosemary, dill and bay leaf, lemon / lemon juice, young beets and carrots, flaxseed oil, white meats (except turkey which is heating to the liver), a wide variety of legumes and whole grains, and some fresh fruit (not to excess).

Beverages that benefit the liver: green tea, dandelion tea, chamomile tea (to be avoided if you are allergic to ragweed), chrysanthemum tea (wake up in the morning and drink a glass of room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon to stimulate liver “chi” flow).

Cleansing and Detoxing

Wow, those two words are the hype now! You see entire aisles and end-caps at the grocery stores with boxes of pills and powders to help you cleanse, find more energy, and improve your health.

Cleansing and detoxing—more or less interchangeable words—have come to the forefront in alternative health care—and for good reason. Modern lifestyle and diet in particular are loaded with toxic opportunities which we seize in abundance. In many cases, the natural work of detoxing done by a diet rich in leafy greens and other cleansing foods just can’t get the job done.

If fasting and/or cleanses are recommended, spring is the ideal time of year to do so. TCM practitioners will usually caution against extreme fasts and cleanses; and unless it is for a personal, spiritual pursuit, water-only fasts are not recommended. There are herbal formulas used in TCM to aid in liver cleanses (and other organ cleanses), and specific diets that are to be used during the cleanse to support the body. Depending on the person’s age, current health, and other factors, he or she may experience almost no side effects from a cleanse, some positive but unpleasant side effects that are a result of the cleanse (called a healing crisis), or if a person is already very weak, a cleanse can cause acute problems to surface which would require attention. As with anything that will strongly effect the body, it is wise to consult with a professional (a L.Ac. or O.M.D. are a few examples) who understands the cleanse or detox you want to undertake rather than go it alone…and what about summer?

Whether or not you choose to cleanse in spring, eating a diet rich in the foods from the lists in this article should have your liver “chi” happily flowing into summer at which time you should eat.

“Ah, what to eat in summer?” you ask. Look in your next edition of the Holistic Networker for Part 3 of Eating with the Season.

Allie is a certified Chinese Medicine Nutritionist and co-owner of Radiant Chinese Herbs and Tea in Addison, TX. 626.497.9195

Learn tips to naturally diet and lose weight in this… video clip about how to use vitamins in weight loss.