Health tips for spring

Practical health tips for spring

Spring has been with us for a while now, but perhaps it’s just this last weekend many of us have really noticed its presence. Spring is my favourite time of year, bringing with it a renewed sense of energy and the promise of sunshine, warmth, and a good summer.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s in this spring newsletter:

• Energy of spring – wood, anger, and getting things done
• Try this – renew your sense of wonder
• How to – connect with spring
• Quick tips for spring living
• Need some cooking inspiration?
• Hayfever relief
• Nutritional support for your unique biology

Spring energy…wood, anger, and getting things done

Spring is associated with the element of Wood and the movement of energy upwards and outwards. From the darkest part of the year in winter, yin is now making way for yang. It’s no surprise then that in spring we can often feel this movement in ourselves and those around us.

The desire to get out and do stuff, spring clean, make plans and start tackling those projects that have been talked about over the winter. Of course nature is busy too. The grass is greener, weeds are growing, birds are busy building their nests, and the natural world is coming back to life.

The Liver is the yin organ associated with Wood. It’s the General, the official who has the vision and makes the plans. In emotional terms Wood is associated with anger. Anger is often seen in a negative light, yet it is no more negative than any of the other emotions we may have.

In Chinese Medicine, this Wood energy is the unstoppable force for action. Wood energy builds up to the force needed to find away around obstacles in our path. It’s the energy that get so much done in the world!

On the flip side, we may not be able to express anger appropriately. Ultimately, if the emotion of anger is repressed it leads a stagnation of energy and movement. Bottling up frustration or anger for too long can lead to emotional and physical ill-health.

Feeling frustrated?

If you’re feeling frustrated you need some way to let it out. Physical exercise often helps, be it fast walking, sports, or bashing a punch bag. Or doing something creative might be your thing – painting a picture, taking on an exciting project, dancing, or playing a musical instrument.

In our spring acupuncture treatments we use the energy of Wood to smooth the lfow of energy to help unblock frustrations and balance your response to anger. Other seasonal treatments and ‘tune-ups’ might also include…

• A currative treatment for spring hayfever sufferers
• For those who find spring or summer difficult seasons acupuncture can help ease the transition

Try this…renew your sense of wonder

Walk outside, look around you and imagine looking at everything as if for the very first time. Look at things closely. Imagine you are a young child seeing this for the very first time.

You may find a renewed sense of wonder at the world just outside your door! 

How to…connect with spring

We find there is more time in the day as the mornings and evenings are now lighter. With the spring energy waking earlier can work well and helps us get on with tasks we haven’t had the energy for over winter. Take this new abundance of energy to help you:

• Take stock of your vision for the year. Where do you want to be and what do you want to achieve this year?
• Use your inner general to plan how you will achieve your goals
• Make the step-by-step decisions to implement your plans
• Imagine positive things and be creative!

Now is the time to be more energetic. Start up our exercise again, but remember keep layers on hand. Wind is known as the “spearhead of a hundred diseases”, so keep this in mind as a cold spring wind can easily catch us out, especially when we’ve been exercising.

Need some cooking inspiration?

Recommended by a nutritionist friend of mine, it’s now our go-to family cook book. Easy to cook, healthy meals with help on how to plan effectively to save time.

We live in an age of hyper processed foods. Work and family pressures often leave us with precious little time to call our own. Let alone cook a wonderful meal from scratch every evening! Meals are often eaten on the go, or in front of the TV, phone, or tablet.

Everybody’s biology is different, and in treatment we often talk about how certain foods may help or hinder your specific wellbeing. Some advice is more generic, like how the we can conserve our energy by drinking warm water and having soups and stews over winter.

Food is an incredibly important factor in your day-to-day health (alongside the pillars of exercise, sleep, and emotional health). Yet it’s easily to overlook and get stuck in a rut. There was a time when my lunches were a cold sandwich or pasta at my desk, and dinner often eaten at 9pm.

The body is incredibly resilient, but continued over the medium term any bad habits will have a noticeable effect on your health.

Help is at hand

That’s why I love the Doctor’s Kitchen 3-2-1 book from Dr Rupy Aujla. Recommended by a nutritionist friend of mine, it’s now our go-to family cook book. I love that each recipe not only contains a healthy dose of fruit or veg, but is also designed to provide a balanced meal. In this respect it’s a refreshing change from some of the one-tin books on the market (I’ve got many of these too).

Meals are a mix of meat, fish, and lots of vegetables. Whilst recipes lean more towards vegables and less towards meat, we often add meat as the kids prefer it.

Easy to cook

The flavors are bold and there’s a mix of cuisines from Greek to Indonesian to Creole. To top it off, most dishes are pretty quick and easy to cook – and I’m pretty slow at doing anything in the kitchen!

Time is a key factor of eating healthily, and I tend to follow Dr Rupy’s advice and cook larger quantities to use for lunch the next day. As they taste so good this is rarely a chore. If you’re stuck in a rut this book is a good basis to save time and start eating more healthily.

In conjunction with personalised diet recommendations from a Chinese Medicinal perspective, and regular acupuncture sessions, introducing some of these recipes could work wonders on how you feel.

Hayfever relief

For hayfever sufferers this time of year can be a real struggle. According to the most up to date evidence, acupuncture is an effective treatment for hayfever (allergic rhinitis). Research also suggests acupuncture may be safer than currently used medicines. If you have hayfever and would like to know more, just drop me a line.

For more on the research – https://www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org/acupuncture-allergic-rhinitis/

Nutritional support designed for your unique gut biology

There’s been quite some buzz on social media about the Zoe nutrition programme. The app gives dietary recommendations based on your body’s unique response to sugar and fats, as well as the “good” and “bad” bacteria found in your gut biome. It’s ground breaking stuff! I’ve been trialling the JoinZoe the app since January, so more on this next time.