Energies of Food: Eating for the season

Feeling a bit less energized and a little more sad as the weather turns colder? Different

times of the year can have strong effects on our mood, our body, even our energy

needs.

So what do we mean by the energy of food?

This actually can mean two things. Either the biochemical energy from nutrition or the

traditional energetic quality of foods.

The biochemical energy from foods is the one most people commonly think of. A person

eats food and the body makes that food into fuel so it can produce energy for the cells

to run on, for the muscles to work, and for the body to do the work it needs to do.

The traditional energetic quality of foods possess qualities like warming or cooling that

affect the balance in the body.

As we transition from Fall to Winter, our bodies change the requirements they need.

From a biochemical energy view, we begin to store up fuel for the colder months, we

tend to gravitate to easier to digest foods like soups and stews that are easier on our

digestive system when extracting nutrition. The traditional energetic quality of foods

view looks at certain foods as warming energetically to the body. Some of these foods

include ginger, onions, lamb, cooked root vegetables, and whole grains. These can kick

up the metabolism and result in a warm sensation.

So what does this have to do with being sad and tired?

Turns out eating for the season really does affect our mood and energy levels. Keeping

our sugar and insulin levels at reasonable levels can help tremendously. Eating for the

season can help you avoid being a hangry mess. Eating foods that are easily digestible

during the fall and winter ensure your body is putting its hard work to something other

than taking nutrients from food.

To a wonderful warm winter!