Spring is at least one wonderful thing that those of us living in the Northern hemisphere can identify with at this time of coronavirus uncertainty.
Spring is such a beautiful time of year, filled with new life and renewal. It would be a shame if we failed to notice its beauty because we were preoccupied with something else.
Even the strictest quarantine measures still allow a person to sit on their porch or visit their backyards. Personally, I am planning to finally buy a chaise lounge so I can … ahem … lounge in the sun one fine day.
I also can’t tell you how grateful I am to have my pile of dirt this year. The chives are already growing (they look like someone’s buzzcut don’t you think?), as are many of my perennial herbs, such as sage, mint, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, and lavender.
At least nature’s cycles are still dependable, and hopefully a comfort to many of you out there.
Today I wanted to share with you about beets and lemons, which are two powerful spring food allies.
Foods That Protect Your Health During Spring
I have learned through my Ayurvedic studies that spring is a time when the blood tends to get fatty.
Have you ever wondered why you tend to get colds, the flu, and allergies more in the spring? This is the reason.
By nature, fatty blood is thick and sweet, which is an environment that attracts bacteria.
You want to support your body to adjust to the new season, so it can effectively ward off these seasonal maladies.
Why Does My Blood Get Fatty In Springtime?
Do you remember all that rich, fatty food you enjoyed all winter long? You craved it because that, too, is nature’s way. Maybe you even gained a few pounds?
Your body used that rich food to create an insulating layer of fat under your skin to keep you warm through the cold winter.
It is what you needed then, but not what you need now.
In fact, as far as your internal body goes, spring is actually a hotter time of the year than summer because you’re still adjusting.
It’s the warmer temperatures that trigger this mechanism. Since you aren’t a polar bear who hibernated all winter and lived off his or her fat, you gotta deal with it in the spring.
How You Can Help Your Body
To maintain optimal health at this time, you can assist your body by stimulating bile.
Bile is produced in your gallbladder and liver, and bile’s role is to break up fat globules into tiny molecules that allow you to digest and efficiently eliminate the fat.
So this brings us to the subject of beets.
Delicious, sweet, and wholly satisfying, beets have a powerful bile-stimulating effect.
And so do lemons (and a bunch of other foods you can read about in this post.)
Foods like beets and lemons are also supportive for your liver, which is the organ that’s primarily tasked with detoxifying your blood.
So there’s a dual action from beets and lemons that is particularly effective at this time.
Of course, I’ve got a few recipes to share that will help you enjoy more beets and lemons in your diet.
Quinoa Soup with Spring Greens & Radish
Savory Beetroot with ‘Nutty’ Ghee
Roasted Beets with Maple Butter
My Healthy Root Burger Video, featuring Beets
Easy Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce
Can I Admit Something To You?
I am going to end this post by admitting to you that eating with the seasons used to be a challenging idea for me. I thought I had to do everything perfectly.
But really, I was over-complicating it.
I finally realized that I just needed to pick a couple foods that I like that are good for a particular season, and then eat some of that.
These days, in addition to beets and lemons, I am eating salads with radishes and crunchy red peppers, spring chives, applesauce, apples, cooked kale, broth-based vegetable soups, and basmati rice.
Simple, nourishing foods that give your body a rest are good at this time.
I am sharing this with you to encourage you to try simplifying this spring season.
You don’t need any fancy recipe. Get some beets and lemons on your next shopping trip, and enjoy them.
I guarantee your body will thank you for it.
Dawn
Thanks for this!! I love beets, and I didn't know that they were helpful for my liver.