Warming foods for digestive health

The why and how of embracing the warm narrative before we really need to.

If you need to get in touch with me, email sophiehburton@gmail.com

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Hilma af Klint, Untitled #1,1915, oil on gold on canvas, private collection

As I dive deeper into various pillars of health and food wisdom from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine, I continue to come away with stunningly simple, intuitive ways that we can better care for ourselves through food. Most topical for this transitory time of year, is a shift into warming foods for digestive health.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it’s still hot outside. I hear the flickers of protest, even in myself, at the thought that warming foods are here already.

Yet from a TCM perspective, late summer is the time to do the work. To support the spleen and stomach in anticipation of Autumn and Winter. When we take daily gentle action now, we stand a chance at entering cold & flu season (not a fan of this term but gosh it’s accurate) slightly more fortified, with a stronger immune system.

Whole, radiant health is infinitely easier to experience in the heat of summer, but the colder months is where the true test lies. Holding onto our vitality through Winter is an absolute win in my books.

So, let’s warm up before we really need to warm up. I begin the seasonal shift by doubling down on warm, moistening foods and liquids for breakfast. Frozen fruit based smoothies, ever the feature in many people’s life for the sake of convenience should be politely ditched in favour of room temperature or stewed fruits, pre soaked porridge, an omelette, congee. Each of us has a different constitution and it’s best to use your intuition to discover which morning foods work best for you. Also, pay attention to sluggishness later in the day, whether you frequently feel jittery or if you often experience cold hands and feet. Picking up on small cues can help to course correct and tweak before the wheels fall off.

Next, I like to integrate spices into warm drinks. Fresh ginger sliced into hot water helps me to feel flushed and well circulated. Same goes for cardamom and ginger powders sprinkled into hot chocolate, or a cup of chicken broth with chilli flakes, fresh ginger and turmeric thrown in. All of these can also do wonders for feelings of restlessness or impatience.

Lastly, dress warmly during seasonal change. Too many of us cling to summer dressing, and I encourage you to fight the urge. Cover the neck and chest in the morning to protect against the wind.

Whatever you onboard, aim to be mostly consistent, not perfect. Pursuit of perfect is exhausting! Simply pay attention to whether your meal choices are correlated to energising days or exhausting ones, and make small, incremental change.

With all of this, we are aiming for joy, ease and curiosity. These are my own personal baselines for health on a daily basis. Keep on establishing, practising and noticing and I’ll see you back here next week.

*Next week I’m back with the monthly kitchen edition. Video again because you guys seemed to enjoy! If you missed the last one, here it is.

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Sophie’s Marketplace

A few bits and pieces I’m loving right now, maybe you will too.

1. Pacific Harvest kombu strips. These tough strips of kombu (a type of kelp) have become a staple in our house. We use them while cooking warm, brothy dishes. Kombu is a key part of the video next week. I can’t wait to introduce this grunty star performer.

2. The Organic Farm Butchery beef broth. Tom makes chicken broth at home regularly, but I prefer to outsource beef broth making, and buy it from these guys. Best one available where we live, in my humble opinion! This Hawke’s Bay based business began with a mission to make organic meat available to as many people as possible.