Logic for Eating during Late Spring

Apr 16, 2022

As the beginning of spring passes and the weather steadily -- or suddenly -- gets warmer, all the phlegm in the face and neck melts, and a sense of movement stirs in the body. In northern climates, spring allows us to enjoy cool breezes with hot days, and very cool nights. We need to dress in layers and mind the changing weather. More importantly, we need to kindle our digestive fire.

Almost half the day is light, dominated by the sun, and almost half the night is dark, dominated by the moon. This is known as the Equinox (equi, equal + nox, night, L.). The sun warms us but is starting to make us sweat, and the night cools us but is starting to create dew and moisture in the hours before dawn. Water balance in the body seeks re-equilibration.

Ayurvedic wisdom provides general guidelines for healthy people during the late spring season with the main purpose of stoking the digestive fires in the body.

1 Select light-to-digest foods, or foods that are not difficult to digest, such as heavy meat preparations and eggs, multigrain dishes and heavy processed complex grains. To help kindle the digestive fire, which slowly dissipates as the atmospheric heat opens the skin pores, eat unrefined oils and watery soups. The sun also dries the moist oily (snigdha) content of the body and sucks out the tissue funcitons known as dhatu-agni.

2 Choose local foods that are growing around you. Find them at a fresh farmers market, rather than opting for groceries that import food from afar. Fresh foods have no preservatives, no coloring agent, no binder or filler, or ingredients to 'maintain freshness.' Try to store very little in your refrigerator and visit the market each morning for fresh ingredients. Use the winter stock of staple foods.

3 Eat less, measuring the contents within your two palms together as one anjali. Try to eat only 2 anjali of food in a meal. Do not overeat, as it will douse the digestive fires and detoxification system. Eat only until you are 75% full, leaving room for air.

4 If you are trying to lose weight, sip on a mug of hot, fresh-boiled water just 15 minutes before your midday meal. The water will raise your pitta a bit, and fill your belly, so that you eat less food.

5 Find foods that will not increase the heat of your system, as it is already getting hotter outside in the weather. Foods with inherent heat inside them will release that heat into the body just after digestion and after being carried from the blood into the tissues. Avoid highly spicy hot foods, very sour foods such as intense lemon, aachars and pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, tamarind, and highly salty foods such as preserved meats, chips and crunchy snacks, as they increase the internal heat of the body without kindling the fire.

6 Opt for food that is steam-cooked, and not fried. The heat of the oil imbedded in the food increases the heat in your body, thus increasing pitta imbalance, especially if the oil is refined and not cold-pressed. Oil takes longer to digest too, so it can clog the channels. Fire consumes the food into usable energy nuggets, whereas pitta (water +fire) transforms what you eat into latent heat energy in the body.

7 Enjoy heat-producing fruits but in moderation. Mango, pineapple, papaya and sweet jackfruit are seasonal and excellent for provoking heat. They can serve as a light meal in the late afternoon when the weather begins to cool before sundown, but they should be limited for those with delicate digestive systems. Only if you have a hardy regular workout and a body that is resistant to disease can you consume larger amounts of these fruits.

Using the late spring to get rid of phlegm but control heat buildup and kindle digestive fire produces a stronger body, a connected mind, and better energy levels that allow greater connection to self and control over one's mind-body-senses, which in turn builds self-confidence and a more attractive self.

Everyday Ayurveda

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