What are you doing to optimize your health this season?  Are you living your best life or just surviving?    As a health provider, I’d like to support  you with some seasonal diet adjustments and maintenance for you your body , mind and spirit too. 
As the feast of Thanksgiving draws near let me begin with some tips for diet adjustments for fall to optimize your health for months to come.  In traditional Chinese Medicine vegetables are eaten as a mainstay, along with protein and carbs, yet rarely are vegetables eaten raw.    If they are raw, they are fermented as in sauerkraut or kimchi.  Most vegetables are stir fried or cooked gently and served warm to aid the absorption of the nutrients by the digestive system. 
Some of you, that choose smoothie breakfasts as a staple, I may have even given the pep talk about having warm or room temperature smoothies rather than cold ones!   I am all in favour of having an abundance of colourful nutrient packed fruits and veggies as the bulk of ones diet – just warmed up please!  This is especially important as our weather cools and to warmly  fuel that inner furnace ( stomach) and build up both energy, and resilience to any pathogenic factors also known as flu or cold viruses.  

Another tip in the upcoming feasting season, is aim to stop eating before feeling over full.  Eating to the point of feeling overfull takes a lot of energy for your body to digest and clear.  This  often leaves you feeling like you have a food hang over for numerous hours.  My theory with feasts are they will taste even better as next day left overs.   Therefore stop at 80 or 90% full feeling, and enjoy the flavours of the feast in the next day or two again, and see if you agree.  

The organs that are best to support in the fall are the lung and the large intestine.  The practice of not over eating supports the Large intestine and some specific foods such as beans, leeks, peanuts, and pears support healthy lungs.  Perhaps a stew with  sweet potatoes, leeks and peanuts followed by a pear crisp drizzled with the moistening goodness of a fabulous local honey, to tone the lungs for the cool crisp fall air.  

To nurture our mind and spirits, the holiday of thanksgiving encourages us to dwell on the many good things that are in our days, weeks or year. I am very grateful for health, a beautiful place to live, play and work.   Operating a thriving holistic health clinic is the icing on my thanksgiving cake.  Thanks to many of you for being so committed to  living your optimal health, referring a friend or supporting this local business through an interesting and unusual year.  
I invite you to continue this commitment to your best health in the coming months.  Many insurance plans end at the end of the calendar year, so please use those hard earned benefits,  to optimize your health, with one or more of my services.  

You can book online at https://flourishinghealth.janeapp.com/

Happy Thanksgiving and cheers to the lovely season of Autumn to inspire us to live our best life.    Photo credit Pat Morrow, near Radium BC
Heather