SEASON TO SEASON
Staying Healthy in LATE SUMMER

In Chinese Medicine’s 5-Element tradition, there is a fifth season recognized as the last month of summer and the middle of the Chinese year. Referred to as Late Summer, it sits in the cycle of season like a plateau of still, tranquil energy marked by heat, ripening and fullness. Time seems to slow down and no one wants to move as quickly. Not surprisingly, this is the time of year many people in our hemisphere choose to take a vacation so they can rest. The season of Late Summer, holding the Earth element, acts as a point of transition from yang or masculine energy to the yin feminine energy, as it holds the space between the expanding growth cycle of Spring (wood or tree element) and playful, active offerings of Summer (fire element) and the inward, cooler, more mysterious Fall and Winter seasons.

The Earth Element
According to Chinese Medicine, Late Summer is represented by the Earth element, which focuses on the organs of the stomach and spleen-pancreas. The emotions associated with Earth time are sympathy and nurturing when health is balanced, and anxiety and worry when the Earth element in us is out of balance. If we feel we are taking care of everybody else and no one is taking care of us, or if we cannot stop worrying, we may find our stomach rebels, perhaps making us feel weak and tired, creating loose stools, ulcers or just plain pain in the upper abdomen.

Hot and Bothered?
The swampy damp heat we experience during DC area summers is particularly palpable in Late Summer; and by the time August rolls around, we can begin to feel the stress it puts on our digestion, specifically the stomach and spleen-pancreas. This season is, not surprisingly, associated in Chinese Medicine with sweetness-- to balance out the bitterness of Summer and as the precursor to Autumn’s pungent (think ginger, onion, garlic) taste quality. Try to resist downing glass after glass of ice-filled sweet drinks. The icy cold and super sweetness put a lot of stress on the digestive system and the Earth element organs in particular at this time of year. Even with the presence of unnatural air-conditioning, our systems are sensitive to the energy of the season.

So Sweet...
Many of us reach for sweets-cookies, candy, ice cream, and other processed/refined foods (that enter the bloodstream quickly as sugars) when we are anxious or worried. This only aggravates our pancreas and spleen, irritates the stomach, and creates what Western medicine refers to as an acid state and what Eastern medicine refers to as excess dampness. The end result is we feel more anxious, tired and unwell. The instinct to eat something sweet, however, is a good one. Instead try and choose naturally "sweet" foods (mentioned below). This will help your body receive nourishment more easily and will help you settle into a calmer state.

Eat Gently for Late Summer
So what foods can we eat to facilitate living in greater harmony with Late Summer’s ripe harvest time? As the earth of Late Summer provides nourishment to fruits and vegetables, so does it nourish our body and feed our mind and spirit. Orange and Yellow are the colors connected with Late Summer, following the fiery reds of Summer and preceding the white/off-whites of Autumn’s healing foods. Paul Pitchford, the guru of Chinese medicine and nutrition, writes, "… choose some foods for each meal that are harmonizing and represent the center-mildly sweet foods, yellow or golden foods, round foods, and/or foods known to harmonize the center-corn, millet, carrots, cabbage, chick peas, soybeans, squashes, potatoes, green beans, yams, tofu, sweet potatoes, rice, amaranth, peas, chestnuts… apricots, and cantaloupe."

Ways to Cook for Health
Find simple ways to prepare your food at this time of year to make it easier for your stomach, spleen and pancreas to digest and absorb these nurturing vehicles for nutrients and gentle energy.

• Don’t combine too many ingredients (save casseroles for cold weather).
• Keep cooking time and cooking temperature moderate. Instead of grilling everything, saute gently or splash some water into the pan with your late summer veggies.
• Avoid frying at high temperatures and using too much oil.
• If the hot, humid weather doesn't dampen your appetite, consciously avoid overeating to keep your energy from fading even faster than usual after a big meal and your stomach from suffering, too.

Take Time Out
Get together with friends and loved ones and enjoy leisurely, colorful meals of simply prepared dishes (imagine you're living in the Greek isles or Morocco and cook accordingly). Revel in the ripe wonder of this season as the pace slows and time stands still enough for the telling and listening of stories. The crickets' song reminds us that Summer is starting its gentle slide towards Autumn.

Your advice was concrete
and practical.... I eat a healthier
diet, enjoy cooking delicious
meals, and have kept off
twenty pounds.
—Jonathan C.

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