Traditional Chinese Medicine advocates that Autumn is the season for looking after our lungs which has a direct correlation with the skin. The colour of Autumn is white and as you look around the local markets you will see more white vegetables, or fruits in season, such as yam, lilies, pears, and melons. As the Summer comes to an end and the humidity decreases our bodies get drier and drier in tune with the weather. With all this dry heat in the body, we are susceptible to dry throats, dry nose, and dry skin. All these nice white coloured goodies appearing in the markets this month are favoured for having the effect of reducing the inner heat of our heart & lungs.
If you have excess of heat in the body, containing too much fire then you should look at eating these Yin favoured delights on regular basis, like 2 or 3 times in a week. Lili buds are a great Autumn delight and are especially good for our heart & lungs. They add nutrients to our body’s essences of qi & blood and are known to reduce coughing, calm the mind, help with insomnia and decrease anxiety.
Check out Sandra Huang’s recipe for Lily Buds & celery
Beware though as some people already have a lot of cold in their body and should therefore eat less of these cooling wonderss, or at the very least avoid eating them on their own and instead make a nice soup with additonal yin food such as beef or chicken.
If you want to find more about what your body is crying out for, why not visit TCM practitioner Alex Tan at the Straight Bamboo Clinic, located at The Hutong.
