Without stress and colds: 8 rules of the autumn diet

8 rules of the autumn diet

With the onset of autumn, not only the weather and mood change but also the body's needs for food. How to help him not gain extra pounds, resist colds and cope with seasonal stress?

Today, all nutritionists say that the basis of the diet should be seasonal products. The human body has evolved over thousands of years in conditions when fresh vegetables or a duck leg appeared on the table strictly on schedule - depending on natural cycles. From the point of view of a modern person, it is a flagrant violation of his right to eat strawberries whenever he wants, but if we talk about health, the concept is very true. Throughout the history of civilization, people have been looking for ways to benefit from the products at hand and have achieved great success in this. So why reinvent the wheel if there are years of proven solutions for how to feel better in the rainy season?

Add some warmth

The main rule of well-being at the turn of the season is that your food should be warm and cooked. At the level of sensations, this does not require explanation: autumn, I want something warming. But at the level of biochemistry, there is another argument: seasonal tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin, onions, and cabbage are better absorbed when the active substances in them are modified during cooking. Ayurveda gives a different explanation: warm salads, soups, and decoctions help pacify Vata, the dominant energy of autumn. It is she who is guilty of drowsiness, mood swings, and lack of energy. And warming food can restore balance.

Eating meat

In the summer, it is quite possible to live on salads for weeks and feel good. But the cool, changeable autumn weather is an occasion to include animal proteins on the menu, such as rabbit meat, duck, and beef. Even better, if you manage to enrich your diet with offal. The liver, kidneys, and brains are excellent sources of vitamins and amino acids, the need for which the body increases dramatically during the season of viruses and colds. In order to support your immunity, it is enough to eat meat dishes three times a week, but, of course, these should be high-quality natural products, and not sausages or bacon-flavoured chips.

Brew herbs and berries

Decoctions and infusions of seasonal herbs, berries and roots are a great way to diversify your tea card and at the same time get a lot of benefits for the body. Such warm drinks help digestion, often have a tonic effect, but do not contain caffeine, and help maintain the body's immune forces. Favourites of the autumn season are ginger tea with honey and lemon, rosehip infusion, sea buckthorn juice, Ivan tea, and cranberry compote with spices.

Use spices

The warming effect can be provided not only by the heat treatment of products - some spices can also make the days warmer and the mood more cheerful. In autumn, it is especially recommended to add ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, curry, all kinds of peppers, and garlic to food. First, each of these spices is a powerful source of antioxidants and antimicrobial agents that protect against colds. Secondly, the usual food is much tastier with spices, and the number of combinations of their use depends only on your imagination.

Soups

Many people notice that with the onset of autumn, they want to eat more and more often, and move - on the contrary, less. It is difficult to resist such a pace when nature itself seems to be slowing down. In order not to gain extra pounds, but at the same time feeling full and satisfied, return to the children's rule - "soup every day." Hot entrees are a great way to keep your appetite under control without overdoing the calories. Particularly good in this sense are vegetable puree soups made from pumpkin, green peas, corn, mushroom stews, and light soups with chicken and vegetables. They have enough volume and nutrients for long satiety, and just enough calories to satisfy the basic needs of the body.

Wake up hungry

The morning feeling of weakness and lack of energy has many reasons: too little sun outside the window, going to bed too late, eating too much in the evening. The latter, by the way, is the easiest to deal with. Eat dinner 3-4 hours before bed, so that between dinner and breakfast the body has at least 12 hours to recuperate and rest. You will be surprised how willingly and cheerfully you will wake up in the morning in any weather.

Eat fruit instead of sugar

From September to November, the stalls look especially colourful: bright pomegranates, fresh figs, a dozen kinds of grapes, melons, and persimmons. Saturating the vitamins of these fruits is the right strategy in anticipation of winter. It is no coincidence that they are so brightly coloured and have an intense taste: this is a sign of how many vitamins, minerals and a variety of antioxidants are hidden under the skin. At the same time, the natural sweetness of fruits acts on the body much less destructively than refined sugar and will help to refrain from chocolates. And it’s worth doing it: sweet desserts, pastries, and generally fast carbohydrates weaken the body’s immune forces, which is completely inopportune during the period of viruses.

Add Fat

Fatty acids are necessary for a person all year round, but in the cold season, the need for them increases. Fats are required for hormonal balance, protecting skin and hair from the negative effects of wind, frost and central heating, and most importantly - to control appetite. Therefore, the best solution with the onset of autumn is to cut the number of carbohydrates in your diet, replacing at least some of the bread and cereals with cold-pressed vegetable oils, nuts, eggs, sea fish, and natural dairy products.