I've often stressed the importance of seasonal eating to help keep our bodies in balance.  Here are some suggestions to help stay warm and healthy in the winter months. In Traditional Chinese Medicine foods are thought to have different energies from cold to neutral to hot.  Vegetables and fruits that are raw posses a cool energy. Too much of these can result in symptoms such as congestion, fatigue and depletion, mucus, feeling cold, abdominal pain, chillness, bloating after meals and poor appetite. Sound familiar? When we change our diets by reducing our intake of raw fruits and vegetables, cold water and cold dairy products, we can improve these symptoms. Animal protein is very warming, so people who eat meat everyday are apt to better handle more raw foods. Optimal balance is also determined by climate. Our bodies need a warming, enriching diet to balance the damp, windy, and cold weather of winter.

Below are some suggestions on how to warm your diet:
1. Cook vegetables for colder weather.
Cooked foods have absorbed the heat of cooking and are believed to generate body heat and stimulate circulation. Try preparing foods by steaming, stewing and baking.

2. Make sure you eat protein.
Protein is an important source of heat and energy.
Animal protein is very warming. Eggs are high in Vitamin A and provide useful amounts of zinc, both of which keep us powering through the winter days and protect our body from infection

 

3. Eat foods and spices with a warming energy.
Black and white pepper, ginger, garlic, cayenne, walnuts, green onions, and chili peppers are particularly warm and stimulating. Some other good warming foods are:
Nutmeg

Squash

Sunflower seeds

Walnuts

Chestnut

Turmeric

Cayenne

Parsley

Clove

Coconut

Dates

Fresh Ginger

Coriander

Chives

Rice wine or vinegar

Cinnamon
Black pepper
Green/red pepper
Caraway
Mustard greens
Pine nuts
Rice milk
        

4. Drink warm and room temperature fluids. Avoid cold drinks. Many people drink huge amounts of cold water and other liquids, which can throw off the body's balance.