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Having just pulled through a long winter (although it doesn’t seem quite over for those of us in the Twin Cities), the advent of spring, nature’s new year, is a welcome time for renewal, regeneration, and a natural inclination toward cleansing. We’ve thawed, the daylight hours are extended, and we find ourselves with more energy and anticipation of the lengthened days of summer.

In the natural world, survival depends on living in harmony with the cycles of seasonal change. According to Dr. John Douillard, author of The 3-Season Diet, “As Native American and ancient Asian cultures have long proposed, nature is neither static nor haphazard but moves in cycles that flow effortlessly and organically into one another. During each of the three seasonal harvests that make up the annual cycle, nature produces the seeds with which to heal the ills of that season and help prepare the body for the season that follows. In the West, we look on nature as a cruel force that must be subdued through technological wizardry, but the Native American and Eastern traditions see in nature the potential solutions to every imbalance.”

Good Riddance
We’ve all heard the idiom “spring cleaning.” During this time of year, many people get enthusiastic about cleaning out the garage or basement and purging unwanted items from the home or office. It’s beautiful how nature sets us up to do the same with our bodies.

During the cold months, when the ground is dormant and the frozen soil doesn’t allow us to fetch a tomato or cucumber from the garden, we are naturally inclined to eat heavier foods like meats, dairy, nuts, grains, stews, and starchy root vegetables from the fall harvests. These foods keep us insulated and give us the extra energy we need for all that shivering and teeth chattering.

Eventually (and thankfully), along comes spring, which provides us with naturally congestion-busting foods. The first offerings to pop up are greens and asparagus, followed by onions and peas. Come May, the harvests will include beets, broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower, leeks, and radishes, to name a few. It’s important to eat organic foods that are in season in your area. 

Speaking of peering out from our winter covers, for those who are in tune with nature’s seasonal bounty, spring is a great time to lose extra pounds. I’m always disheartened to hear my clients express disappointment for not losing much of the weight that they resolved to lose after New Year’s. It’s important to understand that, although not impossible, nature doesn’t set us up to succeed with winter weight loss, again, because we’re naturally drawn to the heavier foods when the temperatures drop. The cleansing foods of spring aim to rid the body of the excess fat we ate during the winter.

Turn, Turn, Turn
Just as the seasons don’t change overnight, neither should your diet. It’s important to gradually decrease winter’s heavier foods and increase spring’s cleansing foods in a way that feels natural.

Incorporating detoxifying foods into your meals is not about restricting yourself. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats must be present in the diet year-round, but should fluctuate in proportion as seasons change. According to Dr. Douillard, “Spring calls for roughly 10 percent of your diet to come from fats, about 60 percent from carbs, and 30 percent from protein.” However these percentages should not require you to carry a gram counter in your pocket. The basic premise is to eat more proteins in winter, more salads, sprouts, greens, and berries in the spring, and copious amounts of fruits and vegetables in the summer.

Also, as snow melts and the spring rains come on, the ground becomes muddy. If the earth is holding on to more water, then so shall we, which causes congestion and allergies for many of us. The good news is that nature provides us with the perfect antidote to this unwanted accumulation––spring’s cleansing, mucous-free foods.

It’s also important to note that, for allergy sufferers, dairy should be avoided altogether. Dairy is a high mucous-forming food, which refrigeration dramatically increases. I’ve known several people who suffered for years with allergies and repeated sinus infections. Once they gave up dairy, their allergy and sinus problems disappeared like winter’s last snowfall. 

Cleanliness is Next To…
When many people think of “cleansing,” they envision a dreadfully restricted diet, several days on an all-liquid fast, and easy access to a restroom at all times. Although these may be appropriate for some folks, and I’ve done my share of experimenting along these lines, there are other ways to clear out winter’s heavy residues and shed that extra weight.

Just as some of us spring clean our homes by window washing, mopping, and purging, we also need to spring clean our other home, our body, our real home that we inhabit 24/7/365. It’s more important to take care of this dwelling than it is to clean out all of those old magazines from the attic.

Listed below are a few of nature’s natural detoxifiers:

• Artichokes: These members of the thistle family stimulate bile production, which helps break down fats in the bloodstream.
• Leeks: Hailed as a weight-loss aid, these members of the onion family have lots of fiber and diuretic properties.
• Cucumber: These crunchy wonders are high in acid-reducing alkaline compounds that help tone and cleanse the blood.
• Watercress: This natural detoxifier is high in sulfur compounds that cleanse the liver and have been credited with reducing the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
• Asparagus: These delicious stalks are a gentle diuretic and contain antibacterial properties. (And asparagus isn’t just a great detoxer. It has other great “benefits” you can read about here.)
• Berries: These colorful gems naturally enrich and cleanse the blood.