Herbal Magic & Wellness Tips for the Fall Season! 🍁

Nov 10, 2022

I trust that your fall has been magical. Here in the Hudson Valley the colors are still so vivid - stunning shades of orange, red, yellow and brown. And the forest looks & feels like a beautiful temple full of golden light and magic!

Fall is also an important transition time, both in nature and our lives. Pretty quickly, we go from the heat of the summer, cold drinks & lovely outdoor parties to colder weather, extremely busy work schedules, and abundant holiday meals we share with family and friends at the Thanksgiving table and over the holidays!

No wonder that many traditional healing systems (like Ayurveda in India) consider fall as a very important time of the year to support and nourish our digestive system in order to prepare it for heavier, more abundant winter meals and unusual food combining over the holidays.

This in turn will help us maintain higher energy levels as well as healthy immunity. We all know that when digestion and elimination are sluggish our energy levels go down as the body is using all of its resources to deal with undigested nutrients, gas, bloating and inflammation.

In addition, as an important part of our immunity originates in the gut, when our digestion is off our immune defenses will suffer.

Same goes for the production of our happy hormones: 90% of serotonin & 50% of dopamine are made in the gut! So healthy digestion is key to having healthy hormonal levels and our ability to manage stress in a productive way.

Even more reasons to support your digestive system now to enjoy healthy and happy holidays to come! Have I persuaded you enough? 😀

If yes then here are a few easy tips on how to power up your digestive system for the upcoming holidays & beyond:

🍁 🍁 Use your favorite carminative herbs & spices to make a delicious digestive tea! “Carminare” in Latin means “to cleanse.” Carminative roots & spices are the plants that cleanse & activate the digestive system.

Among them are fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, anise, all-spice, ginger, thyme, basil, chamomile and nutmeg!

All of these colorful and magical plants support liver & gallbladder and encourage production of bile & digestive enzymes while alleviating gas, bloating & GERD.

They also have strong anti-viral, anti-bacterial & anti-inflammatory properties and work synergistically to strengthen your immune system and improve your respiratory health!

So why not pick your favorites & combine them into a fragrant, warming seasonal blend? Use 1 TBSP of the mix per 8 oz of boiled water. Steep covered for at least 15 minutes. The longer you steep the stronger is the medicine! Enjoy after meals!

🍁 🍁 Use bitters before and/or after meals! Bitters are alcohol based tinctures that combine extracts of bitter roots and aromatic plants: gentian, dandelion, burdock, chamomile, orange peel, fennel, ginger... They gently cleanse liver and the digestive system of toxins, stimulate bile production, get digestive juices flowing, and cleanse the lymphatic system.

Bitters are the traditional version of aperitif and digestif! And a perfect seasonal support for fall! You can take bitters directly into your mouth or add them to a little water (1-2 oz is enough) or to a glass of sparkling water before meals. This is the oldest digestive remedy on the planet (dates back to the ancient Egypt) and the most powerful of them all!

🍁 🍁 If you are a ginger lover like me and are not afraid of its strong taste, eat a couple of slices of ginger with a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt before your heaviest meals. This will surely get your digestive juices flowing and will offer you some extra energy to digest the meal!

🍁 🍁 Cook your meals with ginger, turmeric and carminative spices. I do love the fragrant and delicious Indian spice blend called Garam Masala and use in the fall and winter when I cook my veggies or make my red lentil dahl. This spice mix typically includes cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, mace, and nutmeg. Delish!!

🍁 🍁 First thing in the morning, drink a glass of warm water with a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Liver loves sour taste and astringency as they give her a big squeeze in the morning and rid her of all the impurities she pulled out of your blood all night long!

🍁 🍁 And the easiest of all: drinking a glass of warm water before meals will get your digestive juices flowing. Cold water with ice tends to contract the bowels so prefer room temperature or warm water before the meals, especially during colder seasons.

🍁 🍁 Do not eat standing, walking or under stress! Grant yourself a few minutes to disconnect from phone and Internet and to truly taste your food. Marvel at what the Earth has to offer us as nourishment and flavors during this colorful & bountiful season!

Always here if you have any questions, would like some herbal advice, or simply want to share your favorite ways to integrate herbal medicine into our daily lives!

Feel free drop me a note here: katya@warmicitaherbals.com.

Wishing you a beautiful & luminous day full of fall magic… ✨💫

Yours in Plant Magic 🌹

Katya

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Herbal Magic & Wellness Tips for the Fall Season! 🍁