Spring is Here! Liver Renewal & Regeneration
Spring is here - Create a healthier you through Renewal & Regeneration - from the Inside Out
Healing Body, Mind & Spirit
Seasonal Living for a Modern World
Look a little closer at what is happening in nature and I’m sure you will notice the same elements reflected in your body, mind and spirit. As the energy around us increases everyday so does the energy within. When does your energy peak during the day? With more sunlight, many of us rise earlier to take a walk or do some exercise, leaving us invigorated for the day ahead. The air and sky look brighter and bluer than ever, and so our vision improves and we start to see things in new and different ways.
In his seminal work on the foundations of eating and living with the seasons Healing With Wholefoods, Paul Pitchford explains the five (Yes!! 5 not 4!) element cycle and provides plenty of simple recipes to get started. When we look around us we notice that Spring is all about the Wood element and rapid growth, plants shooting up from the earth, leaves unfurling on mass, in the mild warmth of the sun. It is this bursting forth Yang quality that also helps us to clear out long held excessive desire, dissatisfaction and impatience to find self-awareness and our true self-expression.
Each season we focus on the internal organs. In Spring, it is the Wood element and the Liver and Gall Bladder. How do Liver and Gall Bladder imbalances play out in our emotional and physical lives? We may experience mood swings, tend towards emotional excess and can start to feel depressed about every day things. Sluggish in the morning, cravings at night and can’t seem to shake the desire for things on the “do not eat” list. The Liver is associated with desire and we all know that excesses of desire may blind proper judgement and lead to inappropriate actions, eg. excessive eating, exercise or even work. When we experience the emotions underpinning desire such as greed, anger and resentment this can lead to damaged Liver function.
The great news is as the diet improves it becomes necessary to liberate some emotional obstructions. It is our mindset that holds the key to improving Liver function.
To start with focus on these two key areas:
developing an attitude of non-separation (we are all connected and a part of something bigger than ourselves) and
undercutting persistent desires with selfless action and kindness.
During Spring as we try to unify our mind, body and spirit this subtle shift in our mindset will probably come up against lingering negative thoughts and denial. This is when we need to draw on our courage and compassion. Offering sincere forgiveness and finding things to be grateful for are important steps to resolve emotional issues and the benefit is that this clearing of resentments creates renewal of the Liver and improves Qi circulation. You will start to feel lighter and clear away unhelpful thoughts.
“In Healing with Wholefoods, Pitchford considers the focus of spring to be renewal and regeneration, by giving our Liver and Gall Bladder the opportunity to cleanse and cool the body as our inner heat begins to rise. By Healing the Liver we can reestablish a smooth and soothing flow of energy through the whole person””
Seasonal wholefoods to cleanse the Liver & Gall Bladder
Let’s start with Foods & Spices to include in your daily meals and snacks
Light and easy to digest, foods like young plants, fresh greens, sprouts
Sweet and pungent flavour combinations eg. mint tea with honey
Pungent herbs eg. basil, fennel, rosemary and bay leaf
Sweet foods eg. carrots, beetroot, parsnips
A small amount of raw, sprouted foods
Keep your cooking time short and hot, like sauté, stirfry and steaming which leaves the inner part of the food a little undercooked and al dente!
2 weeks of Liver Support :
When putting together a meal try to have four or five small portions of a variety of foods from the list below to help stimulate renewal and regeneration of the Liver during spring:
Eat less, eliminate rich and heavy foods, less meat to relieve stagnation
Use mildly pungent herbs/spices mixed with foods like watercress, onions, strawberries, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouted grains/seeds
When eating complex carbohydrates such as legumes and grains harmonise with sweet flavoured vegetables (see above) or add some natural sweetener like honey, stevia, barley malt
Start the day with bitter & sour foods like a hot lemon drink, vinegar, sour citrus, rye, pickled and fermented foods, asparagus, quinoa, alfalfa, dandelion root, chamomile, licorice
Include some detoxifying & cool flavoured foods with every meal like mung beans, celery, seaweed, lettuce, tofu, mushrooms, radish and daikon
Eat small amounts of chlorophyll rich foods (spirulina etc), tofu, mung beans/sprouts, cucumber, seaweed, plum, cold pressed flax seed oil to help build yin & blood
To accelerate rejuvenation and increase your intake of healthy plant based omega 3 fatty acids take foods rich in chlorophyll like organic hawaiian spirulina, dulse flakes, microalgae, chlorella