Spring Waterworks

The songs of the birds, buzzing bees and blossoming daisies in spring tempt us outdoors. The sun warms our skin and creaky bones after a long winter. Coming out of winter, our bodies are making some big changes like shedding winter fat.

The warmer weather indicates to your body that we won't need our extra February insulation, triggering a release the fats into your bloodstream. The fatty, thick, enriched blood bogs your circulatory system and respiratory tract. Enriched blood is called sweet blood in Ayurveda. It causes water retention and mucus congestion. You may notice more saliva this time of year, bad breath, a persistent sore throat, or flu like symptoms. Your lungs may feel heavy and the mind sluggish.

Spring Allergies: Myth or Fact?

Flowers bloom all summer long, yet in the spring a single grain of pollen triggers a flood of mucus. Pollen in the air is beyond our control. Heavy, fat-enriched blood predisposes us to more mucus production. Reducing fats and heavy foods during the spring can mitigate our response to pollen. Fat metabolism tends to aggravate the liver, increasing inflammation and immune sensitivity. Cilantro calms our immune sensitivity to pollen. It is hypoallergenic and cools the liver.

Mint refreshes the mind, disperses dullness and lifts the fog. It breaks up mucus and fluid stagnation in the lungs, throat and sinuses. Mint and cilantro are both diuretics with the potential to drain excess water via the urinary tract. Raw onions have a cleansing effect on the liver and a laxative effect in the GI. Wild onions, a common weed, are a great addition to the spring time menu.

What is a Spring Fever?

"Spring Fever" is the new energy, vitality and vigor we associate with the warmer spring weather. Literally, the fever comes when spring weather warms your blood, dilating blood vessels in the arms and legs. As the sap starts to run in the maple trees, circulation improves to your extremities, effectively ending the season of winter hibernation. The arms enjoy the additional blood, and crave physical activities such as gardening or spring cleaning. Outdoor activities also ignites protein cravings. Quinoa, a grain, can satisfy protein cravings. It is a complete protein often appearing on super-foods lists.

Extra blood in the extremities translates to less blood for digestion. Mint and onion stimulate a waning spring appetite and quinoa is easy to digest. On warm days, a release of fluid buildup from moving blood can cause the hands and feet to swell. As diaphoretics, mint and onion both cause sweating that cleanses the skin and disperses swelling in the hands and feet.

Contraindications

Raw onions may be too intense and pungent for sensitive digestive tracts. In that case sauté onions until they are translucent. Mint, an inspiring herb, could potentially scatterbrain a Vata person. Mint and cilantro, both diuretics, may be too drying for Vata.

Basically, a low calorie diet. Celery is a negative calorie food meaning celery has less calories than the effort to digest it. Celery is also a diuretic helping to reduce water retention in Kapha.

Bitter is Better

Generally, all leaves have a bitter component. Kale and endives are among the last surviving bitters in the grocery store. You might be blessed to find arugula and dandelion greens as well. Bitters enhance and cleanse the digestive tract by stimulating movement (peristalsis) and the release of bile from the liver and gall bladder. Bitters were common in the diets of our ancestors and should be re-introduced as a main ingredient in the modern diet.

Bitter taste pacifies Kapha and Pitta but aggravates Vata. Kale is an excellent bitter but is hard and chewy, and hard to chew usually means hard to digest. Therefore, Kale should be cooked until it is soft and more digestible. The harshness and Vata aggravating components of bitter are offset by the stimulating effects of spices and salt. The sugar, coconut flakes and oil in this recipe add a heavy quality balancing the light quality of Kale.

This recipe is one of our favorite staples on Joyful Belly. For more about bitter taste, click here. For more about Greens, click here.

Raw or Cooked?

Raw food offers nutritional benefits but is more difficult to digest, causing gas and bloating. The nutritional benefits are then outweighed by the toxicity of food fermenting in the gut. Indigestible food is considered poison in Ayurveda. As Dr. Robert Svoboda says, 'Even the nectar of immortality is a poison if the body can't digest it." The measure of good food is not just its contents, but its interaction with our body.

Cooked food is easy to digest but destroys some vitamins and enzymes. Neither is superior. The real answer to the cooked or raw debate depends on the digestive strength of the individual. Pitta people have the strongest digestive strength and can tolerate more raw foods than other doshas. Taken from The Raw Versus Cooked Debate.

The pungent flavor of chipotle and the drying cumin help balance the slimy okra and sweet butternut squash, making this dish relatively safe for Kapha. Although okra may look and taste mucous-provoking, the astringent quality of okra also plays a role to balance Kapha. Turmeric helps regulate the butternut squash's sweet taste. Altogether, this is a healthy and tasty dish.