#65 October 2023 Simplify Health News

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#65 October 2023 Simplify Health News

Foods to Fall for

Simplify Holistic Nutrition Consulting & Functional Medicine Health and Wellness Coaching

Just like juicy watermelon slices are made for summer and hearty soups are perfect for winter, there are certain dishes and ingredients that are intrinsically linked to fall.. Root vegetables like beets, citrus fruits, apples, and pears are all notable in autumn. Seasonal produce are so distinct this time of year that we should add them to our fall food list.

Dishes we should be preparing are warm, rich in flavor, and filling and perfect for baking, cooking or meal planning during a fall reset. Use some to get outside your typical cooking comfort zone or fill you up on a weekend at home during the fall. You just might discover a new autumn favorite.

Foods to Fall for

Pumpkin

One undeniable seasonal food that’s a favorite for many is pumpkin, and pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin offers a long list of nutrients that protect and support the heart, such as vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, copper, fiber, folate, and manganese. Pumpkin provides calcium, potassium, and magnesium, which can help keep your heartbeat regular and your blood pressure low. (WebMD)

Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc, as well as very rich in antioxidant nutrients. They are rich in vitamins and minerals like Vitamin E, manganese and vitamin K, both of which are important in helping wounds heal. Their zinc-richness help the immune system fight bacteria and viruses. Pumpkin seeds are also an excellent source of phosphorus. (WebMD)

Pumpkin seeds are rich in alpha-linolenic acid, which is the plant- based form of omega-3 fatty acid, which means they're perfect for vegans and vegetarians who won't get omega-3s from animal sourced foods.

Beyond baked pumpkin recipes you could use pumpkin to make soup and top it off with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Fennel

Fennel has a long season, harvested anytime from fall until early spring, and it’s edible both raw and cooked. Raw, it has a crunchy texture, like celery, and can be sliced or shaved into meals.

Fresh fennel bulb is a good source of vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin critical for immune health, tissue repair, and collagen synthesis. Vitamin C also acts as a potent antioxidant in your body, protecting against cellular damage caused by unstable molecules called free radicals. Both the bulb and seeds contain the mineral manganese, which is important for enzyme activation, metabolism, cellular protection, bone development, blood sugar regulation, and wound healing. Aside from manganese, fennel and its seeds contain other minerals vital to bone health, including potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

Kale

A super healthy vegetable in season during fall is kale. It is not only great in salads, sauteed with avocado oil and herbs or in a winter soup, it’s also great crispy in the air fryer.

Kale has an abundance of the powerful antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, to protect the lens of the eye. Vitamin A (important for eye and bone health and a strong immune system), vitamin C (aids in cold and chronic disease prevention, and could lower your risk of cataracts), and vitamin K (good for blood clotting and bone building), as well as Folate, a B vitamin that's a key for brain development.

Beets

Beets are my personal favorite all year round! They contain unique phytonutrient pigments called betacyanin's, which function as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules.

The betalin pigment in beets has been shown to support activity in our body’s Phase I and Phase II detoxification process. Phase II is the metabolic step that our cells use to hook activated, unwanted toxin substances up with small nutrient groups.

Beets are particularly rich in folate, a B vitamin important for a healthy heart and cellular metabolism.

Beets are two- in- one vegetable, you can enjoy both their roots and their leaves.

Apples

Is there anything that screams fall more than apple picking at an orchard? In the U.S., apples are only harvested once a year, from August to November. Everything that isn’t enjoyed during fall sits in cold storage for a long amount of time, so take advantage of a crisp, freshly harvested apple this season—and remember to always store apples in the fridge.

Apples are especially rich in antioxidants like flavonoids, phenolic antioxidants, and vitamin C. They contain plenty of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Including apples in your food intake has many health-promoting benefits, like promoting heart health, lung health and the improvement of regulating blood sugar levels.

Pears

Apples tend to be the superstar- fruit in the fall, but pears excel as a fruit with the concentration of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.

The list of phytonutrients has been of special interest to researchers. Research has shown to promote heart health, promote blood sugar regulation, and the fiber can help lower the risk of colorectal cancer (as well as other intestinal problems). (George Mateljan, The world healthiest foods)

Figs

An often-overlooked fall fruit, the fig should have a spot on our fall food list. They can be enjoyed as-is, for a healthy, high-fiber snack, added to a charcuterie board, or tossed into a salad.

From the standpoint of healthy digestion, fiber is arguably one of the most important nutrients for helping to steady the digestive process. One fresh medium size fig contains about 1.5 g of fiber. The source of fiber is also unique. It is called pectin. Within the digestive tract (insoluble) pectins have been shown to help increase the availability of short chain fatty acids in the colon and improve the health of intestinal cells as well as the presence of “friendly bacteria” in the large intestine. (George Mateljan, The world healthiest foods)

Warming Spices

It would be hard to whip up mouthwatering fall soups and dishes, as well as baked goods without reaching for warming spices.

Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves, black pepper, cilantro and coriander seeds, cumin, ginger, rosemary, sage, thyme, and turmeric really give food that warming and healing fall feeling.

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Cardamom &
Cloves

Black pepper

Cilantro &
Coriander
seeds

Cumin

Ginger

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Turmeric

I hope from my heart that you have a very cozy fall, with plenty of sunshine for outdoor fall activities, and have received an appetite for many healthy fall foods from the list above.

Please let me know if I can help in any way.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Silke