Have you ever heard of Traditional Chinese Medicine? It is the collective name that refers to the wide variety of Chinese medical practices, but also to nutrition. According to Chinese medicine, a person benefits from living in harmony with the seasons. With autumn in sight, it is therefore a good time to learn how Chinese medicine can help you with this seasonal transition!
Why living according to the seasons?
Chinese medicine is a system that encourages a healthy and harmonious lifestyle. This Chinese view recognizes that everything in your environment and life affects your health, and so do the different seasons.
Winter requires a different physical and mental energy than summer. With the right approach, you provide your body and mind with its core needs. In China it is believed that this will make you healthier and happier!
The characters of the different seasons
According to Chinese medicine, there are the following five seasons:
– Spring
– Summer
– Autumn
– Winter
– Late summer
In every season the element of fire, water, wood, metal or earth is central. This partly determines the energetic need of the body.
The summer season is a warm period. A season in which the flowers and plants are in full bloom. During the summer they absorb all the energy from the sun in preparation for the colder seasons.
Nature actually sets a good example for humanity: we recharge ourselves, get moving, bloom and absorb the outside air. By doing this we not only enjoy life, we also recharge our body!
The transition to autumn
One of the hallmarks of the fall season is, of course, less sunlight. People are more indoors and often less outgoing. Autumn is also seen as a reflective and more introverted season.
Your body and mind have different needs during fall. Below are four tips to take these needs into account during the transition period to autumn.
Four tips for the transition to the autumn season
1. Warm food
During fall it slowly gets colder. Your body therefore needs warm food. While many people enjoy cold salads and smoothies in summer, it is better to enjoy a tasty soup in fall.
2. Eat the products of the season
It is also healthier to eat products that occur naturally in the autumn season. In addition, Chinese medicine teaches us that you benefit from taking extra good care of your lungs during this season.
Vegetables and fruits that are often consumed in China during fall are products that moisturize the lungs. Think of pears, apples, dates, figs, pumpkin, nuts and various seeds.
Online you can find which products are naturally present in your country during fall. Try to eat those products! Why? These products have the right nutritional values to meet your energy needs in this season.
It’s not a coincidence that tropical areas often contain vegetables and fruit with a cooling effect and vice versa. What a miracle isn’t it?
3. Let go
Here too, nature provides us with a good example: letting go. The trees slowly lose their leaves to bloom again next year. Autumn is also the ideal season for people to pay extra attention to what you can let go of.
4. Drink lukewarm or hot drinks
What applies to food also applies to drinks. Tea is therefore ideal during the autumn season. The tea sommeliers of Zheng Tea Room have of course also included some beautiful teas for the autumn season in their tea selection.
Teas that are good for your body and mind during fall include: ginger tea, rooibos tea, black tea, or some delicious tea blends.
Our tea specialists have created a beautiful blend especially for the autumn season; the sultry twilight
A delicious tea with aromatic red herbs with a slightly smoked taste and warm notes of cinnamon, licorice and tangerine peels. An herbal tea that warms the body and also has an antibacterial effect.