Who doesn’t love Spring?! As we move into the season of rebirth, you can support your health and your shopping budget by eating with seasonal changes.
This guide is general, and each state will be slightly different. I find the best way to know exactly what is in full harvest for those who don’t have that prior training, is to visit your local farmer’s markets. The vendors are always happy to discuss which foods are coming into season, when they are at the height of harvest, and when the season starts to dwindle off.
Interestingly, many cruciferous vegetables – which belong to the Brassica genus, that includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and more – are booming this time of year, and these superfoods are high in compounds known to aid liver detoxification and even prevent cancers.
These amazing healing foods contain glucosinolates, which have some pretty powerful healing potentials in the body, and also give the foods their characteristic bitter taste and pungent aroma.
If you are concerned about the goitrogen content of these foods – and rightly so – you will be happy to know that cooking brassicas reduce the goitrogen content significantly.
The key to a truly healthy diet is balance, and this is a hard thing to achieve in this day and age thanks to an increase in toxins in our environments, and a decrease in key nutrients in our soils and food chain. One of the big nutrients the typical Aussie is low in is iodine, which nowadays we get mostly from ocean-based foods. Zinc, selenium, and magnesium, are other nutrients that often require supplementing as dietary needs are not being met.
Having adequate levels of iodine in the diet will offset the negative impact that goitrogens can have on the thyroid gland function. However, a long-term iodine deficiency generally takes a targeted therapy approach to correct it, as diet alone will not correct it.
Reasons for population-wide iodine deficiency
- Modern-day farming practices – affects soil quality and in turn, reduce the iodine quantity in our foods.
- People are eating less iodine-rich food – such as seaweed and fish, and are therefore not consuming enough through their diet.
- Increased use of fluoride and bromide – these block the absorption of iodine in the body. Fluoride is found in most tap water around Australia, making the use of water filters essential. Many water filters on the market do not remove much flouride. Bromide is an element found in fire retardants, some swimming pools, plastics, paints, fabrics, and pesticides. Learn more about bromide HERE.
Learn more about iodine in this article – Iodine – worth the hype! – The Lucy Rose Clinic
Any imbalance in iodine and halides in the body can affect your thyroid, adrenal hormones, and hence your energy, metabolism, mood, digestion, and more.
Is SPRING the time to Detox?
Ancient healing arts have stated that Spring is the time to detox for thousands of years.
Spring cleaning the house after being shut up all winter was an essential annual process that helped keep mold, dust, and environmental toxins in check when ventilation and sunlit rooms were not perhaps common in most living arrangements.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is associated with the wood element, which is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder organ systems. If your liver and gallbladder function is sluggish, spring is the time to focus some attention on it to clean up the blood and refresh your body.
As the weather is still changeable, you still need to nurture your immune system, as detoxing too hard and fast will weaken the immune system and can make you unwell. The best approach is to work with a natural health practitioner who can guide you according to your own unique strengths and weaknesses, to ensure safe and effective detoxing that results in better health and vitality.
We would love to help you with our proven science-based approach that combines the best of modern and ancient medicine to fit into our current world and lifestyles.
Your SPRING Seasonal Guide!
FRUIT
- Banana
- Grapefruit
- Lemons
- Oranges (Navel)
VEGETABLES
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Beansprouts
- Beetroot
- Broccoli
- Brussel Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Fennel
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Peas
- Rhubarb
- Silverbeet
- Spinach
We hope you got some value from this article! If you would like to chat with one of our expert team about how we can help you achieve your wellness goals, please feel welcome to book a free 15-minute consultation. We look forward to speaking with you soon!
