A short and unrecognized season, the Earth element rules the last month of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. Or otherwise known as, Indian Summer. It is the middle of the Chinese year and is the point of transition from Yang to Yin.
To attune to the season, choose foods that are harmonizing and represent the center. Mildly sweet foods, yellow or gold foods.
Spleen Qi deficiency
Warming foods or at least neutral in nature. Food that is cold in temperature extinguish the ‘digestive fire’. The best Spleen and Pancreas tonic is well cooked rice, otherwise known as congee. Also oats, spelt, sweet rice and mochi are favorites. Other foods are winter squash, carrot, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, garbanzo beans, black beans, peas, sweet potato, yam, pumpkin, onion, leek, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, garlic, nutmeg. Small amounts of sweeteners like rice syrup, barley malt, molasses, cherry and date. If your Spleen Qi deficiency is severe, use a small amount of animal products in your congee like tuna, turkey or lamb. Butter is the only recommended dairy product.
Chew your food well. Small frequent meals are ideal and food should always be cooked.
Dampness
No raw cold, sweet or mucus forming food. This means not only dairy, but anything that is creamy, for example, soy milk, yogurt, frozen yogurt, things like that. Limited use of meats, eggs, dairy and fats.
Things that contribute to dampness:
Food that is highly refined or highly processed, Too many ingredients in a meal, late night eating or overeating.
Foods that dry damp
Rye, amaranth, corn, aduki beans, celery, lettuce, pumpkin, scallion, alfalfa, turnip, kohlrabi, white pepper, raw honey, all bitter herbs; chaparral, chamomile, pau d’arco and wild blue green algae.
