According to Dr. Napoleon Hill “There is nothing capricious in nature”.
This seems to be true in every aspect, including the foods that grow naturally
and abundantly in the area in which we live. These are the foods that are most
beneficial to our health and vitality. Their natural harvest times coincide with
the time of the year that consuming them will benefit us the most.
In addition to the area in which we live, the seasons also affect what we
should and should not eat. In southwest Idaho/eastern Oregon we experience some
extreme temperatures from well over 100 degrees in the summer to well below zero
in the winter. Some foods are very warming, and should be eaten minimally or not
at all in the heat of the summer, but are helpful for our comfort in the cold.
Among these are grains, meats, nuts, beans and root vegetables – the types of
foods that are more naturally available after the growing season ends.
Just as the cold winter months attract us to meats, cereals, stews and soups
to help keep us warm, our bodies have different needs in the spring and summer.
As the weather begins getting warm, many of us like to be outdoors enjoying the
warm weather activities. This is the time when the last thing we want to do is
eat warming foods.
Spring is a time to cleanse from the heavier foods and more sedentary
lifestyle of winter. It is when our body naturally wants to begin eating lighter
and cleaner foods. Spring is a time to eat light, clean foods that are cooked
quickly, or even raw, such as salads. Many of the tender young greens come into
season in the spring, along with vegetables that are more flavorful if cooked
quickly.
As the summer brings higher temperatures, the most cooling of all foods come
into season. These are the high water content foods such as cherries, peaches,
melons, strawberries, cucumbers, corn and tomatoes. Eating predominately these
foods will not only contribute to our comfort in the hot days of summer, the
nutrients that they provide will help us produce the pheromones that repel
annoying seasonal insects like mosquitoes and biting flies. The traditional
backyard barbeque may be yummy, but those grilled burgers (meat and grains) will
leave you hot, sluggish and very appealing to your local insect population.
Fall brings a new bounty of short-storage life and long-storage life foods.
The short-storage foods like bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, squash, apples,
pears, etc. are perfect for the transitioning season, as we adjust to the
cooling weather. This brings us back to the long-storage foods like winter
squash, root crops, grains and meats to again keep us warm and mellow in the
cold winter months.
Sir Francis Bacon summarized this all in one sentence when he wrote
“in
questions of nature consult nature herself.” If we are accurate in our
observations, nature will always provide us with perfect guidance
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