7 Practices for Seasonal Living in The Fall
Every season brings new challenges from a health and wellness perspective. We have to adjust to different temperatures, humidity levels, amounts of daylight, and many other environmental factors as we move through the year. While each part of the world has different dry and wet seasons and climates, there are a few universal truths no matter where we live.
The fall is typically a cooler and dryer season, and the days are beginning to get shorter. In many parts of the world, including here in South Carolina, leaves are turning and falling from the trees. Summer plants are dying off or going dormant to prepare for the winter. These conditions can affect your lungs and compromise your immune system leaving you susceptible to pathogenic influence. This may manifest as a scratchy throat, cough, inflamed sinus cavity, dry skin, eczema or psoriatic flares, painful joints, or a weakened immune system.
Just as you’re not going to keep on wearing your summer shorts and sandals when the leaves are falling, it is important to adjust your lifestyle in other ways to support your body and remain your healthiest self. Here are a few tips:
1. Get acupuncture!
Acupuncture is the process of placing fine needles into acupoints to help boost and circulate your body’s energy, or Qi. For thousands of years acupuncture has been used to help to strengthen the immune system and fight off illness. Multiple studies (2) have shown that acupuncture significantly reduces the duration of a common cold. Acupuncture supports recovery from colds by strengthening your lung meridian and circulating wei qi though the respiratory system.
Acupuncture can strengthen your immune system by increasing the production of red blood cells, white blood cells and T cells (1). Acupuncture has also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, two things that exacerbate illness and weaken the immune system (3). A single acupuncture treatment may cause a rise in levels of interferon, one of your immune system’s messenger hormones that releases in response to a virus to inhibit viral replication (4).
You can try acupuncture for immune maintenance and in acute scenarios. We recommend weekly to monthly maintenance treatments, but are happy to meet you where you are and help with what you need!
Note: To help prevent the spread of illnesses, If you’re coming in with a current illness please let us know ahead of time through text. If you have tested positive for Covid-19 or your illness is severe, please contact me for a virtual consult where we can prescribe an herbal formula.
2. Take Herbs.
Much like acupuncture, herbs have been proven to reduce the duration of illness. Herbs can also be used to strengthen your immune system before you encounter a pathogen. We can make formulas specifically targeted to your body before or as you’re dealing with an illness. We can create a formula for your specific needs during a full acupuncture treatment with us or an in-person or virtual herbal consult. Another option is to pick up one of our elderberry syrup kits and load up on the immune boosting benefits of elderberry mixed with an age-old decoction of cinnamon twig, white peony root, ginger, jujube, and licorice root. Taking our Daily Adaptogen tea will also help to keep balance in the body that will contribute to overall health!
3. Eat with the season.
As we transition out of a warm summer, the colder weather and wind have a drying effect on the body, specifically the lungs. As the lungs are one of our primary organs involved in a strong immune system, it is important to nourish them with the proper diet. Eating more warming and slow-cooked or steamed meals helps your digestive system conserve energy to fight the influence of pathogens. The earth has a way of providing what we need during each season. A general rule of thumb is to walk around your local produce section and see what exists in abundance! Its likely that the produce unique to each season will give your body what it needs. During fall, you’re likely to see squashes, apples, and pumpkins which are fantastic for boosting yin. Sour and astringent foods can also preserve yin to help combat the drying effect of fall weather that contributes to scratchy throat, dry skin, and a weakened immune system. Here are some foods to eat a lot of, and some to avoid, to keep your body in balance:
a. Enjoy: squash, apple, pear, brussels sprouts, broccoli, pomegranates, dates, watercress, cabbage, turnip, horseradish, onion, peppers, garlic, fermented vegetables, lemons, limes, grapefruit, seaweed, mushrooms, bone broth, soups, stews, lentils, kidney beans, cardamom, chives, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, rosemary, thyme, and turmeric.
b. Limit or avoid foods that cause dampness: wheat, processed sugars, GMO foods, refined flours, cold drinks, dairy, fried food, cold salads, and smoothies.
4. Keep your neck covered with a nice chunky scarf or turtleneck.
This is not just a fashion statement or a way to get cozy, It is a way to protect your health! Wind carries pathogenic influences to the nape of the neck where the energies of the lung meridian are open and vulnerable. As you feel the wind pick up this season, that is your cue to bundle up! It is a simple, super comfy, and yes— fashionable— way to protect yourself from illness this season.
5. Practice breathing exercises.
One of the best ways to keep your lungs strong is to breathe. Sounds simple, right? It can be, but you might be surprised!
Multiple studies have found that over 50% of people have developed incorrect breathing patterns (5). This may contribute to eczema, asthma, sore throat, and circulatory problems. The fall season puts extra strain on the lungs which leads to a weakened immune system, so you should practice breathing. The American Lung Association recommends following these tips for getting the most out of every breath (6):
a. Breathe through your nose when possible. Your nostrils help to filter, warm, and humidify air in a way that the mouth does not.
b. Try belly breathing— allow your breath to move in through your nose, then down into your belly as your lungs contract. Once your belly is full, then your lungs can expand with air. On the exhale, release from your lungs first, then your belly last.
6. Get in touch with grief or sadness.
The lungs are the organ most affected by these two emotions. As we enter the cooler months where is the lung is already under pressure, it is important to learn how to properly process these emotions as to not put additional strain on the immune system. Emotions are meant to be digested and released - much like we digest food. In Chinese Medicine, emotions are understood as one of the internal causes of disease. Maybe this season you can consider taking up a guided meditation practice or visiting a therapist.
7. Let it go.
Just as the lungs inhale and exhale, we are meant to purge things in our life that no longer serve us. Use this opportunity to get rid of the clutter! Maybe it’s time to clean out your junk drawer, donate clothes or toys, delete old emails, etc. Energy will flow easier and you have more opportunity to fill spaces with intention.
Enjoying the fall season
While we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the potentially negative aspects of fall, it truly is a beautiful season. The cooling breeze can be a wonderful relief after an especially hot summer, and nature feels especially vibrant with leaves turning yellow, red, and orange. The fall harvest also features some of the most delicious produce of the year.
That’s why we put such a focus on preventing illness and recovering quickly. This season is beautiful and brief, so you need to be ready to make the most of it. By strengthening your immune system and focusing on lung health, you put yourself in a great position to stay healthy and celebrate the natural cycles of our world.
Citations:
Brown, Ulett, Stern (1974) Effects of Acupuncture on White Cell Counts, The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X7400050X
Je-Sin Heo, Su-Young Yang, Sung-Ah Lim, Jong-Moo Lee, Ji-Young Kang, Seung-Ho Sun, Hyeong-Geug Kim, Weechang Kang, Jung-Hyo Cho, (2016) A manual acupuncture treatment attenuates common cold and its symptoms: a case series report from South Korea, Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine , https://doi.org/10.1016/S0254-6272(17)30006-7
Arranz, L., Guayerbas, N., Siboni, L., & De la Fuente, M. (2007). Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune function impairment found in anxious women. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 35(1), 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X07004606
Yuliatun, L., Amalia, S.h, Rahma, A. A., & Yaumi, L. A. (2017). Electro-Acupuncture Therapy Increases Serum Interferon-γ Levels in Rats with 7, 12 Dimethylbenz(α)anthracene (DMBA)-Induced Breast Tumors. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 18(5), 1323–1328. https://doi.org/10.22034/APJCP.2017.18.5.1323
Bradley, H., & Esformes, J. (2014). Breathing pattern disorders and functional movement. International journal of sports physical therapy, 9(1), 28–39.
American Lung Association, (2023) https://www.lung.org/blog/you-might-be-breathing-wrong
