Top Tip to Energize your life

eating in season

Nature has designed hunger as a powerful physiological drive to seek out food and eat something. However, life is hectic and most people do not make time to eat. The temptation is to grab poor quality fast foods and eat on the run. Eating is obviously about nutrition and getting enough vitamins and minerals, but it is also about pleasure. Whoolfing down a poor quality, high fat/sugar snack does not give the same eating pleasure as a plate of penne pasta tossed in pesto and olive oil. Even if you do eat these types of foods and can sit back and feel smug, knowing that you do eat your greens, there is still another level of balance to consider.

A balanced diet, according to Chinese medicine, satisfies hunger, but also feeds the soul. In the middle of winter, after the excesses of Christmas, there is often a need to detox, in an attempt to repair the damage. This usually involves a lot of lemon juice, grated carrot, salad and grapes. These are all good foods - but not at that time of year. According to Chinese medicine, every food has its own heating or cooling energy. A truly balanced diet means eating plenty of warming foods in winter. Tucking into a fresh green salad on a chilly day doesn't do much for your spirits, but a bowl of vegetable soup will. In these days of global supermarkets, it is easy to push your trolley down the aisle and throw in anything you fancy. However, radishes and mange tout grown under African sun and flown to Britain, don't contain the nutrients as fresh, local produce that was grown and picked in the UK. Eating in season adds another level of balance to your diet. You are also cutting down on food miles and doing your bit for the planet by eating fresh strawberries and raspberries grown in Scotland and pears and apples from England, rather than green beans grown in Kenya.

Past Top Tips...

• Summer Porridge - 06/01/2010
• Burning Calories - 07/07/2009
• Lose weight, eat soup! - 13/01/2009
• Winter food for dark days - 27/10/2008
• Injury beating food - 04/04/2008
• Love Your Liver - 02/02/2008
• eating in season - 01/08/2007
• Bad hangovers. Why alcohol is only partly to blame - 01/07/2007
• Caffeine - Do you need it? - 01/04/2007
• The Power of Porridge - 01/02/2007
• Talking Turkey - 12/12/2006
• Fabulous Foods - Honey - 22/10/2006
• Fabulous Foods - Brown Rice - 01/06/2006
• Thoughts on The Atkins Diet - 01/05/2006
• Thoughts on the GI diet - 01/05/2006