Why to Eat by the Seasons

Over millennia, cultures developed agricultural methods, cooking and eating in harmony with other people and with the seasons. In all cultures, food was prepared (whether soaked, cooked, sprouted, pounded or fermented) in ways that ensured optimal digestion and absorption. There was a connection with community, season, and place.

Today it's so easy to transport food long distances.

People have grown so used to having watermelon, avocado or strawberries all year round that they have lost the joy of something coming into its season.

When we consume produce shipped across the country (or around the world), we may be short-changing ourselves nutritionally.

In anticipation of long-distance travel, growers harvest some crops- at an immature state to reduce damage during shipping. Once produce is harvested, distributors have a narrow window to get it to market before it becomes overripe and starts to rot. By the time many veggies and fruits arrive in stores, sit on display for a few days, and then languish in our refrigerators, they've often lost much of their nutritional value.

Eating, as seasonally and as close to the source as possible - is not only a way to feel more connected to your food. It's also more environmentally sustainable than eating food grown and shipped from afar. Plus, research shows that the fruits (and vegetables) of the farmers' labours are often more nutritionally dense.

For example, in a study evaluating the vitamin C content of supermarket broccoli, a research team found that locally harvested fall broccoli had almost twice had almost twice the vitamin C content of imported spring broccoli, which had travelled many miles to reach the market.

Since produce tends to loose nutrients after harvest, the shorter the time from harvest to your place, the more nutritious your food will be.

Ancient health traditions such as Indian Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine hold that our bodies and minds are primed to receive different types of nourishment in rhythm with nature's cycles, and that seasonal eating aligns with these shifts within our bodies.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, throughout the year, external changes in weather, as well as internal shifts in our emotions and energy, influence our dietary needs and preferences.

When the weather is warm and dry, for instance, we crave cool and juicy foods - think of summers rife with watermelon, cucumbers, leafy greens, and tomatoes. Chillier weather inspires food choices that are dense and warming, such as root vegetables and darker greens. Spring selections lean toward detoxifying leafy greens, asparagus, radishes, and spinach.

In the ancient Indian practice of Ayurveda, there is a special term for eating seasonally: ritucharya.

This seeks to harmonize health, reduce inflammation, and improve digestion via an "opposites approach": Winter foods are oily and warm - think rich stews, steamy oatmeal topped with butter, and root vegetables roasted in ghee or olive oil. Summer foods, such as melons and cucumber, are light, cooling, and easy on the digestive system.

The concept of ritucharya breaks down what to eat during each season to maintain health and prevent disease.

Seasons indeed bring cyclical changes in our metabolism, just as they do in other animals, says Cleveland Clinic endocrinologist Betul Hatipoglu, MD. Woodland animals, for example, shift into an insulin-resistant state to burn fuel more efficiently in the winter, enabling them to eat less when resources are scarce. Humans experience a similar shift to mild insulin resistance as part of an ingrained survival mechanism from our hunter-gatherer days.

"People think of winter weight gain as having to do with eating more during the holidays, and that may have something to do with it," says Hatipoglu. "But it also has to do with this hibernation mode."

In the fall, our livers increase fat production to prepare us for winter, ramping up glucose production for use by the brain, she explains. This annual insulin cycle switches back to an insulin-sensitive state in late winter in preparation for summer's abundance.

While you may crave brightly coloured, phytonutrient-rich vegetables and fruits during the summer, in the colder months your body often asks for different produce and grains to support you through the winter. Our digestive cycles are related to circadian rhythms. In the winter, our bodies are better able to accommodate heavier foods such as potatoes, as well as grains.

Eating foods when they are in season not only assures you food that is at its delicious peak, it also gets you in step with the seasons of food. Eating seasonally, whenever possible and as much as possible, gets you in tune with the rhythm of food in the way that agricultural people and many Europeans have always been. This is a fun way to eat; it brings more joy to the table and to the mouth.

Food is more than just nutrients. It's information for your genes and your cells. The new field of nutritional genomics informs us that each time we eat, the food sends signals to our genes and cells telling them what to do. When we eat a dinner of broiled fish, steamed greens, and brown rice, our response is different that when we eat, let's say, a fast food or a frosted cappuccino mocha.

Remember the saying "eat a variety of foods"? As an added bonus to the sheer pleasure of this style of eating, varying your diet according to seasons increases the variety of foods you eat, which in itself is associated with improved nutrition and resistance to chronic disease.

The Seasonal Gut

When you expand the variety of foods you eat and rotate them seasonally, your gut benefits from a more varied, dynamic population of health-supporting bacteria.

The fiber in vegetables, fruits, and some grains, as well as the probiotics in fermented foods, boosts gut health. By extension, it improves the resiliency of your immune system.

To avoid falling into a single-season food slump we recommend trying one or two unfamiliar vegetables or fruits weekly.

As your gut becomes happier, it's likely you will, too. Research shows there's a strong link between gut health and mental well-being.

Our physiology becomes our psychology, and vice versa. When we change what we provide to the body, we become different emotionally.

Other gut-related benefits include a lower risk of allergies, less inflammation, more protection against oxidative stress, and a wider range of nutrients.

Eating local, seasonally available foods is not only a great way to optimize nutrition and flavour; it may also help us adapt to our environment.

Beyond the Harvest

It's easy to embrace seasonal eating when the farmers' market is in full swing. See what's in season year-round: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/seasonal-calendar/all

While folks in temperate climates can enjoy local, seasonal food year-round, many others have to be flexible.

Frozen produce is typically picked and packaged at peak nutrition, making it a better choice than under-ripe fresh produce shipped long distances. These options can sometimes be gentler on the budget, too, helping you expand your choices when seasonal picks are limited.

Fall cooking style

You'll want to adjust your cooking style technique to help your body adjust to shorter, cooler days of fall. Think of cooking methods for longer periods of time. Also, more baking, roasting, stewing and braising at this time of year, replacing or complementing the raw, steamed or quickly prepared foods of the warmer seasons.

The bounty of fall also encourages the art of preserving food, enabling us to capture some of the flavors and nutrients of the harvest to nourish our bodies throughout winter.

Strive for a balance of pungent and sour flavors to support your body's adjustment to the cooler weather.

Try to eat as well as consciously and seasonally you can 80% of the time and allow yourself to eat whatever you feel like the rest of the time. As you palate adjusts to the subtler flavors of real food prepared consciously, the desire for many refined foods often simply fades away.

Love and light,

Sophie and Ellie x

Sources:

Experiencelife.com

Mindbodygreen.com

Bbcfood.co.uk

The Mediterranean Diet by John Chatham

Real Food All Year: Eating Seasonal Whole Foods for Optimal Health by Nishanga Bliss