The Ancient Chinese knew that by eating different foods at different times of year, their bodies were able to adapt to the shifting climate and they could have an abundance of youthful, joyous energy year round!

Look, its no secret that the Western food system has failed us. We are seeing more obesity and health issues than ever before. We are struggling with energy levels and stress, and there are more takeaway stores popping up in our suburbs than anything else!

In a world where food is so readily available to us, why is it that we are so unhealthy?!

Spring is the time for new beginnings. It is the time for growth and for renewal. It is the time to make change, plant seeds, and start over for a better harvest next year. Perhaps you’d like to harvest a better lifestyle? A better body? Better energy or better health? Better options for your family to eat?

I want to give you guidance, support, and the knowledge to empower you to make your own informed decisions when it comes to food. I’m here to guide the flow of information so its not overwhelming or disorienting, and not misleading you to thinking that one particular superfood is the long-lost answer to all your problems!

I’m here to guide you East…

To Traditional Chinese Medicine. To seasonal eating. To a place where your medicine cabinet can be replaced with a spice rack, and where a trip to the doctor’s office can be replaced with a trip to the farmer’s market!

I’m here to guide you to the discovery that was made centuries ago in Ancient China and many other cultures across the globe… That food IS medicine.

The truth is most of us don’t need pharmaceuticals, but preventative eating. You are what you eat. As within, so without. If we eat in harmony with nature, we can be in harmony with nature. If we eat in alignment with the seasons, we can adapt to the temperatures, we can fight off the seasonal colds and flus, and we can have the energy to enjoy summer, to stay cozy in winter, and to rebound in Spring with a zest for life like never before!

Ancient Chinese traditions advocate for 5 seasons throughout the year, each represented by an ‘element’: Summer = Fire, Late Summer = Earth, Autum = Metal, Winter = Water, and Spring = Wood!

The 5 elements symbolise the relationship between each of your vital organs, your emotions, and the world around us, shifting through the season. Each element represents a number of organs, emotions, a colour, a sound, and a fluid within your body, that are heightened to the season, along with a broad description of what to eat and how to hold one’s self within the element.

For example, Spring pertains to the Wood element where wind affects our bodies, giving rise to allergens, hayfever, and colds. Spring is the time for birth not just of offspring, but of ideas and identities… It is the time for patience; for nothing grows as soon as it is planted. It is time to shout and cry and let out all the anger that your body has been carrying or that may rise during this season. The Spring season connects us to our liver and gallbladder – the organs of cleansing and renewal in the body, which is why the ancients suggest we opt for sour foods. Our vision is also heightened in Spring as Winter’s ‘wool’ comes off our eyes and we look around to see change in lush greenery springing to life and all the vibrant colours of nature flowering!

Season	SPRING	SUMMER	LATE SUMMER	AUTUMN	WINTER
Element	WOOD	FIRE	EARTH	METAL	WATER
Dates	Spring equinox to Summer solstice	Summer solstice to Autumn equinox	The month of March, plus 2 weeks around each equinox and solstice	Autumn equinox to Winter solstice	Winter solstice to spring equinox
Colour	GREEN	RED	YELLOW / BROWN	WHITE / GOLD / SILVER	BLACK / DARK BLUE
Yin organ	LIVER	HEART-MIND	SPLEEN PANCREAS	LUNGS	KIDNEYS
Yang organ	GALL BLADDER	SMALL INTESTINE	STOMACH	LARGE INTESTINE	URINARY BLADDER
Sensory organ	EYES / SIGHT	TONGUE / SPEECH	MOUTH / TASTE	NOSE / SMELL	EARS / HEARING
Bodily tissue	TENDONS, SINEWS	BLOOD VESSELS	MUSCLES / FLESH	SKIN / HAIR	BONES
Emotion	ANGER / IMPATIENCE	JOY	WORRY/ANXIETY	GRIEF/MELANCHOLY	FEAR / FRIGHT
Voice	SHOUTING	LAUGHING	SINGING	WEEPING	GROANING
Bodily fluid	TEARS	SWEAT	SALIVA	MUCUS	URINE
Counter-emotion / action	PATIENCE	WISDOM / CONCENTRATION	GIVING	VIGOR	KEEPING MORAL PRECEPTS
Environmental influence	WIND	HEAT	DAMPNESS	DRYNESS	COLD
Development	BIRTH	GROWTH	TRANSFORMATION	HARVEST	STORING
Taste	SOUR	BITTER	SWEET	PUNGENT	SALTY
Orientation	EAST	NORTH	MIDDLE	WEST	SOUTH
Grain	WHEAT / OATS	CORN / AMARANTH	MILLET / BARLEY	RICE	BEANS

Eastern philosophy heralds that nothing exists in isolation, but as a flow of energy and inter-relation. Much in the same way, the 5 elements do not exist on their own, even in a particular season – just like your body doesn’t use one organ at a time.

They describe the relationship between the elements in 2 cycles of energy flow: one of creation and one of destruction.

The creation cycle signifies a relationship of mother to son; that is, where one element or organ feeds and gives strength to the next. As Wood provides fuel for Fire, so too does the liver give strength to the heart. A practical example of this is that the liver cleanses the body’s blood of toxins, which allows the heart to pump healthy blood easily around the body. As Water nourishes plants / Wood, so too do the kidneys and bladder assist the liver, by filtering and removing the waste products of the cleansing process, and by producing hormones that fuel our appetite and keep the liver working.

In a successive flow of the seasons, Winter (Water) is followed by Spring (Wood), then by Summer (Fire). The season’s elements build upon one another throughout the year leading to year-round growth and wellbeing inside our bodies.

I’m sure you can come up with some practical examples for each element’s relationship around the circle of creation.

The other cycle is that of control, or destruction – that is not to say that it’s a bad relationship – just that each organ controls and protects its successor. If, however, the body is out of balance, then our organs start to draw energy from each other which has flow-on effects that can be detrimental to our health.

For example, there have been countless recent studies showing how breathing, especially diaphragmatic breathing can have a huge positive effect on our lymphatic system, on stress, and on the oxygen content and quality in our blood, all of which drastically assists the liver. I will go into more detail about diaphragmatic breathing during Autumn, but suffice to say that the more harmonious our breathing, the more our liver is able to do its job without undue stress.

When we have stagnant, shallow breath, or are hyperventilating due to stress or other factors, then our body is no longer in a state of calm, and this can not only hinder the liver’s function, but cause long-term damage (see here). There will be more information about the liver and how to promote health in this organ later this month! Make sure to follow @nutrxau on the socials for updates!

Wood (liver) is cut by the metal (lungs) of the axe. Cutting down trees for fire and sustainable construction, managing the forest, and carving a path through an overgrown jungle is what the axe was designed for. If, however, the axe is over-zealous, the forest will be levelled, the ecosystem destroyed, and the wood used up. A blunt axe may not damage the tree, but nor will it allow the wood to be utilised for fire or building.

You can see the alignment of the physical and metaphorical interactions of the elements. As each season rises, I will delve into the metaphors and relationships in more detail. Let me know if you can see another parallel of metaphorical and physical in the table above.

The flow of energy through these two cycles manifests itself in the organs of the body, in our tissue and fluids, in emotions, nutrients, and our overall qi (vitality). Chinese physiology and the Five Element Theory describe a beauty and perfection in inter-connectedness, unity, and harmony…The ‘total is more than the sum of its parts’. This interconnection mirrors the connectivity of living things and of all of us to the cosmos, in a rather spiritual and beautiful way.

Now, maybe this all sounds too good to be true… Maybe this sounds like hippie-dippie nonsense…?

But what if its not?! What if there is a possibility to enjoy more energy, longer life, and fewer health issues just by changing what we consume?

Is it not worth a try? Are you not worth it? We know where we are going with our current way of life…the western diet…the western medical system! We’ve been down that road.

Spring is the time for ascendancy. It is the time for expanding ourselves and our horizons. It is the time to transcend old ways of being and old problems, and to create a new future for ourselves and our families. It is the time to reach out and connect with each other and to share knowledge and food across the table of life, and to make new friends in the process!

Nutrx is a place for those that have had enough. It is a place for those that are open to try something new. It is a place for those that feel like they are worth the effort and worth more than what the western world is offering them.

I’m here to share my discoveries and my journey with you, and I’d love nothing more than to hear how I can help you. Please leave a comment letting me know what you’d like to achieve with seasonal eating, and I’d be happy to welcome you to my table!

…next week, the feasting begins!