Some Kitchen Medicine for Autumn

There has been a definite shift in the air in the last week or so. Mornings are fresher, evenings are drawing in and some of you are already shaking out the woollies. Autumn has arrived — not according to any fixed date, but in the way we feel it around us.

Traditional Chinese Medicine sees seasonal change as something that happens within us as well as around us, associating Autumn with the lungs and large intestine. We may view health through a different prism today, but the ancient connection remains timely: we move indoors, windows close and respiratory infections circulate more easily. Meanwhile, the plants, fruits and vegetables arriving now offer many of the nutrients needed by our lungs, respiratory system and large intestine.

For many Irish people, lung health is already a struggle. More than 450,000 people live with asthma, before we even consider COPD, bronchitis, pneumonia, chest infections and seasonal viruses. Food cannot guarantee an Autumn and Winter without illness, but it can provide nutrients that maintain the delicate linings of the nose, throat, lungs and digestive tract while supporting the immune system that patrols them. Rather than waiting until you are in the throes of an infection and panic-buying everything labelled “immune”, begin stocking your kitchen now with foods that give the body the best chance to do what it already knows how to do. Luckily, Mother Nature is throwing many of them at us right now.

Stock the kitchen before you need it

Carrots, pumpkins, butternut squash and sweet potatoes get their orange colour from beta-carotene, a carotenoid that the body converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A helps maintain the mucous membranes lining the nose, lungs and digestive tract. These moist, protective surfaces form part of our first line of defence, trapping unwanted particles and microorganisms before they travel farther into the body. Vitamin A also supports normal immune function and, of course, eye health. This week, add butternut squash, carrots or sweet potatoes to the shopping basket. Roast a tray with olive oil, black pepper and herbs, then use the leftovers in a salad or blend with stock, ginger and red lentils for soup. One bit of preparation, several meals and plenty of Autumn colour.

Autumn’s warming, pungent flavours include onions, garlic, leeks, ginger, chilli, rosemary, thyme and turmeric. Traditionally used to move stagnation and clear congestion, science now shows that many contain antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds. Garlic, in particular, has demonstrated antiviral activity and may well help us resist infection. Long before we could name these compounds, we understood which foods helped protect, nourish and restore us.

A very practical thing to do is soften a large pan of onions, leeks, garlic and ginger, divide it into small portions and freeze it. You then have the beginning of a soup, curry, casserole or pasta sauce ready to go. It is much easier to eat well on a wet Wednesday evening when someone has already peeled the onions — even if that someone was you last Sunday.

Dark greens such as kale, cabbage, broccoli and spinach provide vitamin C, folate, magnesium and carotenoids involved in immune protection and tissue repair. Fresh is wonderful, but frozen counts too — keep spinach or kale ready for soups, eggs and casseroles. Blackberries, blackcurrants and plums provide protective anthocyanins and freeze beautifully. Gently simmer soft fruits with chia seeds to make a compote for porridge, yoghurt or granola. Gather plenty of colour across the week; nature rarely puts all her eggs in one basket and neither should we.

Feed the gut, support the lungs

Omega-3 fats help the body regulate inflammation and can be very helpful to our respiratory health. Oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, salmon and trout provide EPA and DHA, while walnuts, chia seeds and ground flaxseed provide the plant form, ALA. Research into omega-3 and asthma continues, with many positive studies . Keep tinned sardines or mackerel in the cupboard, add walnuts or flaxseed to porridge and include oily fish regularly — small habits repeated often matter most.

Beans and lentils provide folate, iron, protein and fibre. We now know that gut bacteria communicate with the immune system and influence activity in the lungs via the so-called gut–lung axis - a fascinating modern echo of the traditional pairing of the Lungs and large intestine.  Your microbiome thrives on a diverse diet of plants and fibre. Add red lentils to soup, butter beans to casseroles or replace some of the meat in a familiar dish with green or brown lentils. 

Your Autumn insurance policy

Think of a well-stocked kitchen as a little Autumn insurance policy. Keep onions, garlic and root vegetables in the basket; lentils, beans, tinned tomatoes and oily fish in the cupboard; and greens, berries and homemade soup in the freezer. Add nuts, seeds, herbs and spices and you can assemble something nourishing quickly, even when time and energy are in short supply. 

Fluids help maintain the normal mucus secretions that trap dust, pollen and microorganisms in the respiratory tract. Water, herbal teas, broths and soups all count. A weekly pot of soup can deliver vegetables, herbs, fluid, fibre and protein in one bowl. Freeze a few portions of carrot, ginger and lentil soup, chicken broth or vegetable and bean stew now. They will be worth far more when you are unwell than ingredients waiting to be washed, peeled and chopped. Feed the freezer before it has to feed you.

Vitamin D also comes back into the conversation as daylight diminishes. It supports normal immune function but is difficult to obtain from food alone. Oily fish, egg yolks and fortified foods provide some, but it is worth checking your vitamin D levels and optimizing your status now and throughout the winter months.

Of course, nutrition is only one part of looking after our lungs. Fresh air, ventilation, movement, sleep, handwashing, not smoking and following medical advice all matter. Still, there is something reassuring about the foods appearing just when we need them and having a well-stocked kitchen to protect, repair and regulate our defences.  

There is a reason for every season. Autumn is inviting us to cook a little more, slow down a little and pay attention to the parts of ourselves that work quietly in the background. So, stock the basket, the cupboard and the freezer, take a deep breath and give those hardworking airbags every chance.