I am cleaning my garage today!! Yesterday it was my basement, before that my closets. Yes, it is Spring Cleaning time! Changing out the old, replacing with the new, and choosing to discard some things while choosing to repair others, happily getting all ready for the next change of season. Yes, change comes with every season, yet Spring actually is different and truly does benefit from special attention. My purpose in this blog is better understanding of health, and today I am choosing to write about how our physical lives benefit with some spring cleaning, too. And Nature gives us a good guide to follow.
Although many of us use the January 1st NEW YEARS DAY to begin something “new” for our year, Nature uses Spring as its “new beginning”. Here in New England, the ice in the streams melt and water flows in a big way! Think of this as free flowing MOVEMENT, in contrast to sluggish, molasses-like movement in winter. And the power unleashed via this unfrozen water can scour the river banks, stir up muddy bottoms, and clear the channel for fresh aeration. Think of this action as CLEANSING, in contrast to the accumulations of a more stagnant winter. Then the warm weather of Spring brings thaws to the ground and spring seedlings burst forth. The first seedlings are greens, rich in nutrients, particularly of the bitter variety such as dandelion greens and mustard greens. Think of these as STIMULATING to our digestive system.
Chinese herbal medicine, which closely follows the changing seasons, targets the liver in its spring cleansing regimen. The liver energy is all about movement. The liver is responsible for Qi (energy) flowing throughout the body. When the liver functions smoothly, so too will the body, in terms of physical as well as emotional activity. It is called the “yoga flow” organ. A good functioning liver supports free movement in body and ease of mind.
Physiologically, the liver cleanses our blood. It is therefore common practice to include a “Spring Fast”, a temporary interruption to our regular diet, as part of our “spring cleaning”, to halt our otherwise constant influx of unwanted constituents, e.g. alcohol, gluten, sugars, and thereby enhance our liver’s annual “spring” cleansing and rejuvenation of the blood and removal of accumulated toxins.
The spring bitter greens have a broad array of constituents helpful in cleansing and stimulating our digestive system. Here are a just a few. The bitter and pungent greens of the allium group, such as ramps(wild leeks), dandelion greens, mustard greens, scallions, chives, and cultivated leeks, are all rich in flavonoids, in particular, quercetin, an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation. Regular consumption of this allium group can help boost the immune system, increase antioxidant levels, fight inflammation and help eliminate toxins. Also, because of its antihistamine properties, quercetin can help mitigate allergic response, a helpful quality for the soon to arrive pollen season.
Mustard greens, distinctly hot and spicy, are very high in gluconsinolate content, ranking second only to Brussels sprouts. When lightly cooked (steamed), mustard greens will bind with bile acids (generated in the liver) in the digestive tract, enabling bile acids to be excreted from the body,
The dandelion root contains taraxacin, a bitter crystalline compound that helps stimulate digestion, as well as inulin which is not digested or absorbed by the stomach and therefore passes on through to the large intestine where it encourages the growth of bacterias that improve bowel function.
Dandelion greens have a diuretic effect, increasing urination, which can alleviate fluid retention.
There are also added fibers from the increase in all these greens to further cleanse the intestinal tract.
These all are examples of what Nature shares with us each Spring so we can GET CLEAN from the inside-out!
So in summary, i like to think of this spring cleansing as creating more space so that fresh air can get through, in both our closets and in our bodies. Our cells will have more room to “breathe”. Toxins are removed. Organs are cleansed. Organ function is improved.
We then can use our newly cleansed and free-n-easy body to “GET OUT” and hike, run, bicycle, up-the-game at the gym, get ready for a summer sport that we love. AND if we really love this new clean feeling, we can move straight in to a new long-term diet with our new refined taste buds and trend toward eating things that nourish our bodies, choosing to consciously ignore the many distractions out there that do not nourish, and to “Be what we eat!” 🙂
Where to find greens? The outdoors Farmers Markets are just now beginning again locally, and they have what we need, those wonderful synchronous perfect foods for our bodies’ spring cleaning needs, a true gift of Nature, now that we know how helpful they are.
Some folks choose to eat with the seasons, in my experience these are mostly farmers who are closest to food, whereas us others can basically buy whatever we want any time of the year. I hope the story above will give you some encouragement to explore eating with the seasons, especially the Spring season of bountiful greens!
Think about colors around you as well! SPRING is GREEN, GREEN, GREEN! In the Japanese healing arts, the Liver function energy stimulates our eyes so surrounding ourselves with green brings in nourishment from what we see this time of year.
Here is a short video of an energetic liver supporting routine that any/every one can do for themselves. It is from the Japanese healing art called Jin Shin Jyutsu. It is a 2 minute video. Click this link — https://youtu.be/TS_L-hVCvzk
If you want to know more about Jin Shin, give it a look, or send me a note. It’s perhaps one of the most versatile healing arts we have. Google either Jin Shin or Jin Shin Jyutsu to find abundant resources.
For some great local EATS ideas, pick up a copy of the magazine EDIBLE VERMONT that just hit the streets, Spring 2023.
And May 10 is CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM Day, yes, there are actually blog posts out there about it, yet how it got there i have no idea, perhaps an Earth Day Spin off??
LET’S ALL GET THIS SPRING CLEAN DONE QUICK SO WE CAN ALL GET OUT AND PLAY!!!