By Drew Mulvey MS, CDN, CNS, CLT
Fall is a time of transition. The weather is getting crisper, and the days are getting shorter. That is why it is imperative to keep your physical and emotional health intact during this time to combat any added stress from the changing of the seasons. How can we do this? Through the inclusion of carbohydrates and seasonal foods.
The month of September is also known as national whole grains month! What better way to celebrate the season than to talk about carbohydrates! Check out the rest of this post for ideas on how to intermingle the two and warm your mind and spirit!
Carbohydrates.
Why are they helpful?
Carbohydrates help amino acids such as tryptophan, responsible for the generation of our well-being compound serotonin and sleep neurotransmitter melatonin, cross the blood-brain barrier. This can help to improve mood and sleep which can second handedly decrease stress levels. Do you wonder why you crave carbs when you want some joy in your life? This leads to the next factor below.
Carbohydrates decrease the production of cortisol, our stress hormone. Acutely, cortisol can work in our favor as an anti-inflammatory. Exposure to cortisol over an extended amount of time can be pro-inflammatory, create insulin and weight loss resistance, disrupt sleep patterns, start to eat up your muscles, and contribute to the cessation of a period. Cortisol also blunts the production of progesterone to pregnenolone and disrupts hormones and is positively correlated with increased stress and anxiety.
Progesterone and dopamine production also are strongly correlated and can very much affect one’s mood and focus. Therefore, it is imperative to decrease cortisol levels to enhance the production of this hormone and stabilize dopamine levels for increased focus, sleep, and mood.
Why else are carbohydrates important?
1. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body. Your brain needs at least 120 g of carbohydrates each day to function properly.
2. Carbohydrates are responsible for binding toxins from a liver detox. Glucuronidation pathways need carbs in order to push harmful compounds out of the body. This is ESSENTIAL if you are on a detox!
3. Carbohydrates are needed for proper thyroid function and metabolism. Yep, you read that right. Carbohydrates are necessary for the conversion of T4 to T3, the active form of the thyroid molecule.
4. Carbohydrates help to spare proteins, meaning they spare muscle. Under heightened states of stress, your body tends to recruit proteins, or amino acids, from muscle due to heightened levels of cortisol. Maintaining your lean body mass is not only responsible for just aesthetics but for metabolism, insulin sensitivity, AND energy production. Therefore, they are important for proper heart health, performance, AND brain function!
What types of carbohydrates?
Emotionally satisfying carbohydrates can be enjoyed from time to time, but complex carbs are preferred. These include fruits and vegetables, whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice and oats, and potatoes and sweet potatoes. The latter is very warming and nourishing for the body which segways us right into our next segment. (Note: too much sugar can decrease insulin sensitivity, increase inflammatory proteins and contribute to the problem but it is not necessary to avoid it all together.)
Foods For the Season
As part of my practice, I love to incorporate a little Traditional Chinese Medicine principle, especially when it relates to emotions, organs, and food energetics. It is important to address several areas of wellness to help decrease the stress response and improve one’s state of well-being. One way we can do this is by “balancing our element.”
The Autumn is associated with the metal element, which is a time of harvest and a “time of looking inward”. This is truly a time of abundance but can bring grief if not perceived properly. The organ often associated with the Metal element is the lungs. Therefore, TCM principles place an emphasis on foods that are more warming in nature and prepared as baked and sautéed foods, particularly root vegetables such as yams, carrots, beets, etc. The weather is also starting to get drier and thus it is important for the body to be “contractive”, or in a state where blood vessels are more dilated, and nutrients are delivered faster to the extremities. Thus, seasonal flavors are recommended in accordance with these properties and are beneficial for nourishing the lungs, and the metal element is pungent and sour flavored foods. These include:
SOUR: LEMON, LIME, SAUERKRAUT, PICKLES, OLIVES, LEEKS, YOGURT, VINEGAR, CHEESE, GRAPEFRUIT, SOUR APPLES, PLUMS, AND GRAPES.
PUNGENT: GINGER, GARLIC, ONIONS, BLACK PEPPER, CAYENNE, AND CHILI PEPPER.
During this time the shift may place an added stressor on the body and thus foods that help to calm the body down. Certain foods that we consume have the ability to stimulate the spleen qi, or the vitality of our body and decrease stress levels. Some of these delicious foods include:
WARMING
GRAINS (ORGANIC): WELL-COOKED BROWN RICE, OATS, MILLET, SPELT (UNLESS CELIAC) STARCHY VEGETABLES: WINTER SQUASH, ORGANIC CARROT, RUTABAGA, PARSNIP, TURNIP, GARBANZO BEANS, BLACK BEANS, PEAS, ORGANIC SWEET POTATO, YAM, PUMPKIN
SPICES: TURMERIC, GINGER, CINNAMON, CLOVES, NUTMEG, BLACK PEPPER
VEGGIES: ONIONS, LEEKS, FENNEL
SMALL AMOUNTS OF FRUITS AND SWEETENERS: MOLASSES, ORGANIC CHERRY, AND DATES WARMING MEATS AND FISH (WILD-CAUGHT, GRASS-FED, ORGANIC): MUSSELS, SHRIMP, CHICKEN, CHICKEN LIVER, BEEF (LIMIT) 1
How can you put all of this new knowledge together? Whip up an Autumn friendly dish sure to warm the body, ease the mind, and strength the “qi”, or vitality.
Recipe
Carrot Cake Oats
Makes 2 servings
2 cups nondairy milk
1 cup gluten-free oats
1/4-1/2 bag organic baby carrots
1/4 cup organic raisins
1-2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps sweetener of choice
Pinch of sea salt.
Directions:
Add the nondairy milk to a saucepan with the salt over high heat.
In the meantime, add the carrots to a food processor and blend until they are grated into small pieces.
When the milk is boiling, stir in the rest of the ingredients, lower the heat to a simmer (low), cover, and let cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Want to know more about how you can keep your body resilient to stress? Sign up for my 7-Day Resilience Challenge starting Monday, October 18, 2021, at 12 noon over Facebook Live. SIGN-UPS ARE REQUIRED.
