Modern transport, storage and distribution methods have transformed our eating habits as well as our expectations in terms of availability and choice of food. For example, many of us will have grown up at a time when berries were only available during a short seasonal window, yet now, we would all expect to be able to walk into our local greengrocer or supermarket on any day of the year and to have a choice of raspberries, strawberries or blueberries.
As a frequent buyer of raspberries myself (for their numerous health benefits including blood sugar control and cancer prevention, and also because they’d beautifully garnish paleo waffles I make) this recently got me thinking about a fascinating essay I came across in “Forest Unseen” about deer. When a deer is given food that is not in season, the deer gets indigestion and can actually die…! Deer have a different digestive system to us and I am sure that, to some extent, humans have adapted to less seasonal eating over simply by being able to dry, pickle, ferment and store food for the winter months when fresh food is less readily available. But eating out of season clearly has an effect on our health, too.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to three scientists for their discoveries on our circadian rhythm – our body clock – and how this biological rhythm governs everything from sleep patterns, hormone release, blood pressure, and eating. We all have an awareness of these inner rhythms. We all know how terrible we may feel when we/our circadian rhythms are in disharmony with what we do; the experience of jet lag is a great example, and also the groggy feeling most people get after a late night, even if they had a lie-in.
Eating out of season is a bit like jet lag.
Many studies show that our microbiomes (the microorganisms in our bodies which include friendly bacteria) and our digestive enzymes change not only with time of day, and every single meal we have, but also with seasons and lunar cycles.
In winter, we have increased levels of Amylase, an enzyme present even in the mouth, which allows us to digest more starchy foods such as potatoes and grains. In his “Eat Wheat”, Dr Douillard proposes that perhaps it is fine for some people to eat products such as bread – but only in moderation and in winter when our digestive enzymes are at their peak, and only the kind of bread that has been fermented over several days – such as sourdough. This is an important point as there are thousands of studies showing that even if there are no obvious health symptoms, we are not able to digest gliadin, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, and that this is what creates leaky gut, and drives autoimmune disease and many allergies. Of course, if you have celiac disease or any symptoms associated with gluten, do not eat sourdough at all, even in winter!
The microbes in the soil from which the fruit and vegetables grow change, too. This is even more noticeable when we eat organic and local produce, as our food will then expose us to beneficial bacteria which will support our health. We have access to unlimited choices of food and yet most people tend to eat the same things every day throughout the year. Sadly, because of their monotonous diets which are often made up by processed foods and sugar, most people are not only not feeding the good bacteria in their bodies, but have already lost most of their microbial diversity – we cannot recreate that by simply taking a probiotic pill.
Getting your gut healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your health.
If the bacteria in your gut are not healthy and not diverse – this will affect your immunity, your skin, your mood and cognitive function and even how quickly you age. An unhealthy microbiome is also connected to autism, dementia, autoimmunity diseases and even cancer.
To support your gut and to counteract the hygienic Western diet and lifestyle, it is essential to eat “the rainbow” – seasonal fruit and vegetables of all the possible colours and variety. I always give my clients a template for noting down each type of fruit and vegetable they eat. If at the end of a week they look at the template and find only several different fruits and vegetables, it is a very good call to introduce more. Most people do not realise how little they actually eat. Initially, we should aim to have 20 different types of fruit, herbs, and vegetables in a week, taking it up to as many as possible. I really recommend doing this at home to see how truly varied your diet is.
Anyone who has children and a super busy household will know just I know how challenging this can be. What works for me, is sitting down once a week, and planning our meals and shopping. I buy most of our produce for weekly delivery from Abel and Cole which has a really helpful website with recipe suggestions for seasonal ingredients. Many other organic retailers also now do this, too. Looking at online recipe blogs is also very helpful for inspiration – ones I particularly like are Green Kitchen Stories and The First Mess.
I also recommend having at least 1 tsbp of fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, kombucha, and pickles every day.
In Ayurvedic medicine, our digestive fire is at its strongest in the morning and early afternoon. Having small evening meals enables us to have some rest from digestion, so that we may regenerate and heal when we sleep at night. One of the benefits from having smaller and earlier suppers is that this will help us maintain a healthy weight. Always listen to your body – we are all different, and there really isn’t one approach that is right for everyone. I recommend you see your Nutritional Therapist for a detailed plan that works for you.
With love, and wishes of best health to you,
Magda
References
https://draxe.com/eating-seasonally/
Bengmark, S. “nutrition of the critically ill – a 21st century perspective”, Nutrients 2013, 5, 162-207/ Available in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3571643/
Bergman, S. Hepatobillary Surg Nut 2012;1(1):25-5. Available in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924628/
Douillard, J. 2017. Eat Wheat: A Scientific and Clinically-Proven Approach to Safely Bringing Wheat and Dairy Back Into Your Diet.
Haskell, D. 2013. The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature.
Hollon J, 2015, “Effect on Gliadin on permeability of intestinal biopsy explants from celiac disease patients and patients with non-celiac gluten sensitivity”. Nutrients 2015, 7,1565-1576. Available in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25734566
Marco, M. 2017. “Health benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond. Current Opinion in Biotechnology”. 2017, 44:94-10. Available in https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095816691630266X
