Ayurvedic Fall & Winter
The ultimate diet & lifestyle guide for the cold season
As Summer transitions into Fall, temperatures begin to drop and the world puts on a monochromatic suit. The air is thinner, cooler, and more drying, and there is this sense of change and uncertainty in the atmosphere. Those who suffered the intensity of Summer are rejoicing, while those who thrive in heat are starting to feel the blues creeping up, knowing that the cold season is near.
Autumn is dry, windy, erratic, and cool. The weather is neither hot nor cold, and this irregularity certainly affects us. We find it difficult to decide what to wear or what we feel like eating, and we might experience mental confusion and anxiousness. Doing a cleanse, such as the Kitchari Cleanse this time of the year helps bring us back to balance, regulates our internal temperature, and ensures a gradual and smooth transition into Winter.
Knowing your Dosha (body type) can help you understand your nature better, and that will clarify why you tend to prefer one climate over another. Take the Dosha Quiz to find out.
Download the Fall & Winter Grocery List PDF sheet of all the foods you can enjoy during this season
Fall & Winter Diet
The main characteristics of Fall and Winter are cold, dryness, and lightness in the earlier months, and moisture becomes more prominent later, as the rains intensify and the snow starts to fall. The Ayurvedic principle ‘like increases like, and opposites bring balance’ suggests that we reduce or avoid foods or activities that are cooling, light, and drying to the body and mind, and to embrace those that increase warmth, nourishment, oiliness, stability, routine and a sense of grounding during the cold season. If you’re in tune with your body, you’ve probably already noticed the natural shift in your cravings; suddenly ice cream and watermelon don’t sound as good as they did a month ago, whereas a baked sweet potato or a bowl of rice pudding is all you want to eat.
When it is cold outside, support your body with substantial and nourishing meals, high in protein, grains, and healthy fats and oils, cooked with warming spices, and served warm. This is the time to enjoy steaming bowls of porridge, soups, and stews, roasted vegetables with ghee, dairy products, nuts and seeds, and meat and eggs if they’re a part of your diet.
It is important to state that eating a highly processed diet that is high in sugar, low-quality oils, carbonated drinks, alcohol, and junk food is not what Ayurveda recommends. A wholesome diet based on vegetables, fruit, proteins, grains, nuts, and seeds, and high-quality fats is what your diet should consist of to maintain good health.
Rasa (taste)
According to Ayurveda, there are six flavors. Each flavor can support or deplete the body, depending on how, when, and in which quantity it is taken. The tastes that should be eaten in abundance during the cold season are sweet, sour, salty, and pungent (spicy). Bitter and astringent tastes should be minimized.
Sweet – fruit, grains, milk, honey, meat, zucchini, beets, carrot, sweet potato
Sour – lemon, vinegar, pickles, yogurt, sour cream, sour fruit, citrus
Salty – seaweed, salt, celery, salt-water fish, and seafood
Pungent – radish, chilies, fresh and dry ginger, wasabi, black pepper, mustard
What to avoid?
Foods that are drying, greasy (deep-fried), sugary, cold, or frozen. These aggravate the system and increase lethargy and dryness in the body and mind. These foods include some of your favorites –
Ice cream, raw salads, deep-fried food, chips, pastries, rich and creamy desserts, leftovers, watermelon, uncooked sprouts, cold food, and beverages
Download the Fall & Winter Grocery List PDF sheet of all the foods you can enjoy during this season
So what should you eat?
As healthy as they are, raw salads are NOT recommended during Winter. This is the perfect time to switch to roasted, steamed, mashed, braised, or sauteed vegetables instead to keep your digestive fire strong, and your body warm.
Your Fall & Winter diet should consist of cooked vegetables, fully ripened or cooked fruit, hearty grains, soaked and properly cooked legumes, high-quality proteins, ghee and other healthy fats such as olive oil, butter, nuts, seeds and avocados, herbal teas, and warm beverages, lots of warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cumin, and black pepper. Small amounts of wine are allowed occasionally for a healthy individual. Sipping on warm or hot water throughout the day, and eating at regular times, not overeating, and being mindful of your hunger and satiety levels will keep you happy and healthy this winter.
A Supportive Fall & Winter Lifestyle
Just like diet strongly affects us, so does the way we run our life. Ayurveda recommends syncing your schedule with nature, the changing seasons, and planning your days according to The Ayurvedic Clock.
Winter is a time for reflection, preservation, and hibernation. Direct your outward energy inwards, and reserve it for the rest of the year. But that doesn’t mean you should give in to laziness, purposelessness, and melancholy, or else you’ll end up feeling isolated and depressed. This is the time to build physical and mental resilience. Wake up before sunrise to counteract the lethargy of Winter, exercise or do your yoga practice to stimulate and awaken the body, and watch the rising sun as you’re coming out of your meditation. The energy of the sun will help invigorate you when the weather is gloomy.