Insight on the Fall Season...and Apple Crisp! by Denise Zeiff, L.Ac., C.N.S.

It's Fall:

The season of harvest and gathering. A time to gather together to store food, wear warm clothing, it is a time to study and plan for the approaching stillness of winter.  Everything in nature is contracting and moving downward.  Leaves and fruit fall and the seeds start to dry.

The forces of Autumn create dryness in Heaven and metal on Earth; they create the lung organ and the skin upon the body…and the nose, and the white color, and the pungent flavor…the emotion grief, and the ability to make a weeping sound. 

                                                                                                 The Inner Classic

 Harvest is only a part of a cycle: without the preceding season of planting and growth, nothing would be possible to reap.  One season gives way and a progression into the next phase begins.  A continuous cycle is the core of Chinese medicine and philosophy.

The season of harvest requires hard work and the ability to receive.  The lungs receive qi or vital energy from the air and the qi extracted from the foods that we eat.  The combination of qi and nutrients are then distributed throughout the body.  In health, the lung qi consolidates, gathers, maintains strength to protect us against virus’, bacteria etc…The ability to hold on and let go can be expressed by the emotional attachment.  The colon is the yang counterpart of the lungs and its function is of letting go what is no longer needed.

Apples moisten dryness and cool heat in the lungs; it stimulates the appetite and remedies indigestion.

 The phytonutrients in apples can help you regulate your blood sugar. Recent research has shown that apple polyphenols can help prevent spikes in blood sugar  and that "an apple a day" can increase HDL (the "good" cholesterol) and lower Triglycerides (the "bad" cholesterol).

Healthy Apple Crisp (when I make this for family and friends, there is never any leftovers, we have eaten it warm straight from the cooling phase as well as straight from the refrigerator…either temperature works)

10 apples peeled and sliced (start with 10 apples, however, you can really use as many apples as you would like)

arrowroot powder

1/4 cup agave

cinnamon

raisins and/or cranberries

your favorite granola

 Use a large bowl to coat apples with arrowroot powder.  Drizzle the agave and mix until apples are coated.  Place apples into a greased baking dish and sprinkle granola and raisins/cranberries on top until the apples are covered.  Pat the granola down and bake at 350 degrees until apples are bubbling.  Cool for at least 1/2 hour and enjoy!