As we move into the season of Autumn, the chill has crept back into our nights and the light is slowly starting to show signs of narrowing. Not only do these signs motivate us to make sure our wood is in and our pantries are stocked, these small changes in our environment mark an opportunity to prepare our immune systems for colder, darker times ahead.
Summer is a glorious time of unstructured play for our children, fresh food from our gardens and forests, get-togethers with friends and family and hopefully a holiday from the normal routine of life. It’s easy to passively build vitality in the summer months. However, soon, the children will return to school and us to our regular routines at the time when the colder weather returns.
Now is the optimal time to think preventatively and start working with certain foods, herbs and lifestyle choices to build immune system strength to be prepared for the coming changes. Simply put the best time to build health is when one is healthy.
Simple Strategies to Build Vitality for the Autumn Seasonal Change
- Raw VS Cooked: In the hot months of summer it’s very appropriate to eat foods and drink beverages that cool the body. However when the colder nights set in its important to bring back some warmer foods to make sure that the internal furnace of digestive fire is stoked. Remember that we embody our natural environment. So, when the nights are colder and damper we stand the chance of having these symptoms arise in our body systems as well. The common cold and chesty, phlegmy coughs can be signs of this. Incorporate warming spices to improve the energy of damping foods. It can be as simple as sprinkling cinnamon onto a freshly cut up, in season apple.
- Rest: Take the time to appropriately rest and get enough quality sleep. If you can, let your natural biorhythm tune into the changes of light. Go to bed when the sun does and awake as the sun rises. Even better, strive to be outside to see the sunrise, allow your inner mechanisms to naturally wake without the influence of artificial light.
- Layers: Remember it’s time to wear socks again, to wrap a scarf around your neck. Tonify the warmth within your body. Unlike summertime where we actively strive to cool off and disperse the summer’s heat, in autumn, try to cultivate more warmth and kindle your inner furnace. Likely, this will mean taking off said layers in the heat of the day and let the sun warm the skin instead.
- Drink a mug of Bone Broth daily: A properly prepared bone broth provides an array of minerals, micro-minerals and nutrients that function as the building blocks of a healthy immune and digestive system. Drink a cup while you wake with the sun in the chill of the early autumn morning.
- Utilize Tonic Herbs: Certain Herbs provide the action of building tonic energy and vitality, strengthening the immune system and overall foundational health. The herbs to include when you are well, to continue to stay well include Reishi mushroom, Astragalus root, Elderberry and many more. Our Vitamin Tree Syrup Elixir is a must have for this time.
- Hydrate: When the weather turns cooler its easy to forget to drink enough water, bring a water bottle with you along your way, ensure the kids are drinking their water too. Key here is to ensure you are drinking room temperature water and not icy cold beverages. Time to put the ice cube trays away.
- Vitamin D: How has your exposure to the sun been since May? We can obtain good levels of Vitamin D from the sun from May to about the end of September in our region. Remember to get enough from the sun you need to sunbathe for at least ½ hour per day, every day, during this time, without any sunscreen or sunblock on your skin. If you feel you may not have obtained all the D you need, now is the time to consider supplementation.
It is recommended to check in with your local health practitioner for guidance if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or have any outstanding health concerns prior to introducing new supplements or herbs to your routine.
