Adjust with the season!!
One of the best and easiest things you can do for your health is learning how to recognize the subtle differences that happen in your body are seasons and climate shift, and to make changes to your lifestyle -especially your diet, to reflect those shifts.
In the Midwest, Autumn is upon us. The heat of summer has gathered in our bodies and now we need to start transitioning to a colder and darker climate. There is some proof that our microbiome, the colony of microbesliving in our gut and creating an environment of digestion, changes as the seasons change. Adjusting our diet according to the design of our microbiomecan improve health. Please see the references below for that proof.
Practically speaking, our social traditions tend to lead us in the right direction. For example, watermelon, a summer favorite and a mainstay at any July 4th picnic, is a fantastic food for clearing heat out of the body.At the peak of summer, when the environment has overwhelmed us with heat,clearing heat helps our digestion.
Now think about the spices we start using as the weather starts cooling. Let me bring pumpkin pie to mind. Think of the warming spices of ginger, cinnamon and clove. All of these are designed to stoke our metabolic fires. Internally, as the weather cools, our bodies shift and prepare to metabolize “storage foods” like grains, root vegetables, higher levels of fats and meats. These spices add the digestive warmth we need.
To get you started on the right Autumnal path, we offer you this recipe. Enjoy!!
Apple Chai Latte
The perfect autumn drink with warming chai tea, tart apple cider and sweet maple syrup - Makes 1 large latte
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
2 chai tea bags
1 cup apple cider
Maple Syrup to taste
Almond Milk to taste
Cinnamon sprinkled on top
Apple Slices to garnish
Instructions
1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Right before the water boils (bubbles have formed) turn the heat to low and add the chai tea bags. Steep for 2 minutes, then remove the tea bags.
2. While the saucepan is still on the heat, add in the cup of apple cider. Stir well.
3. Add in the maple syrup - start with 1-2 tsp, then taste. Add more if you like.
4. Then, add in as much almond (or any plant) milk that you like.
5. Serve the apple chai latte in one big mug or two smaller mugs. Top with apple slices and sprinkled cinnamon
6. Enjoy!!!!
Davenport ER,Mizrahi-Man O, Michelini K, Barreiro LB, Ober C, Gilad Y. Seasonal variation inhuman gut microbiome composition. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 11;9(3):e90731. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090731. PMID: 24618913; PMCID: PMC3949691.
SmitsSA, Leach J, Sonnenburg ED, Gonzalez CG, Lichtman JS, Reid G, Knight R,Manjurano A, Changalucha J, Elias JE, Dominguez-Bello MG, Sonnenburg JL.Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers ofTanzania. Science. 2017 Aug 25;357(6353):802-806. doi: 10.1126/science.aan4834.PMID: 28839072; PMCID: PMC5891123.
