Pumpkin, like most types of orange and yellow winter vegetables, is nourishing to the Spleen. Eaten baked, with warming spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, it benefits digestion, warms the middle, and supplements the Qi. Enter pumpkin pie. While most versions have so much sugar and dairy that the health benefits are negated, it is possible to have a healthful version of this dessert. A favorite of ours is Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner’s Pumpkin Pie, from her book The New Now and Zen Epicure. This is another great cookbook from The Book Publishing Company, and it is available through The Mail Order Catalog for Healthy Living. The recipe is reproduced with permission.

Pears are one of the more medicinal, commonly available fruits. Their primary site of action is the Lungs. Pears are cooling, moisten the Lungs and throat, and stop coughing. They can be eaten raw or cooked to alleviate most minor conditions of the Lungs and throat characterized by heat, dryness, tickling, phlegm, and coughing. A common Chinese home remedy for minor cough and sore throat is to cut a pear in half, scoop out the core, and fill it with a powdered herb mixture. This is baked or steamed, and then eaten. Because of the pleasant taste, it is a useful treatment for children. Anyone interested in this herb mixture can obtain it from the office.

Many of the common spices associated with fall cooking and baking are used as Chinese medicines. These include black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, and orange peel. With the exception of orange peel, they are all acrid in nature. Their temperature is either warm or hot, and they all benefit either the Spleen or the Stomach. Although they all have their own unique properties and functions, they can be used to impart a warming quality to foods. They may also be used alone as a tea for the same purpose. They help indigestion, nausea, vomiting, hiccup, diarrhea, and stomach pain that are caused by any combination of cold, Spleen deficiency, and phlegm. To learn more about the healing properties of individual foods, I recommend The Tao of Healthy Eating by Bob Flaws.

This is brief but seasonally necessary article, which I plan to expand upon in the next issue of this newsletter. It is intended to be practical advice for which types of sweeteners are best to use. I will follow up with a larger discussion of the Spleen and carbohydrates next time.

The sweeteners that I consider to be safe and healthful to use are agave, barley malt, honey, maple syrup, molasses, rice syrup, and Sucanat. These sweeteners can be used in place of conventional refined and artificial sweeteners, and my wife and I have not come across any situation where one of these will not work. If it is not on this list, I do not feel anyone should be eating it.

Anyone who visits my office during the holiday season will see a photograph of a turkey sitting on the reception area filing cabinet. This is one of the adopted turkeys from Farm Sanctuary. Each year my wife and I “adopt” a couple of turkeys. Farm Sanctuary cares for rescued farm animals who have found their way there, including turkeys. A small donation of $20 helps to provide food, shelter, and veterinary care for these animals.

During the holidays, Farm Sanctuary provides the turkeys with a holiday celebration. They get to receive a Thanksgiving meal, instead of being eaten for one. The event is an opportunity to educate the public about some of the issues of factory farming. This is a good organization that does a lot of good work. To find out more about adopting a turkey, visit the Adopt-A- Turkey website.

Every year, from the end of October through the end of the year, I see many people in my practice who are suffering from digestive complaints. This arises from overeating, consuming too much sweets and alcohol, and eating improperly cooked meats. The solution for the first two is obvious, so I will comment briefly on the third cause.