01 Summer Foods

There’s a reason specific plants are growing all around us. Due to the longer hours of daylight, humans would naturally be spending much of the day engaging in low-to-medium intensity movement for long periods of time, foraging and hunting, or simply traveling and playing. With lots of movement comes the need for foods higher in carbohydrates, which our bodies can typically use more efficiently in Summer. Depending upon where you live in the world, this could mean indulging in mango and papaya, or berries and stone fruits like plums and apricots. The vegetables and plants growing in the UK and Europe at this time of year are all full of nutrients, but what these plant foods have in common is that they’re also high in antioxidants. More movement, more play, and more activity in general leads to more natural ‘oxidative stress’ as muscles and tissue are worked and broken down. Antioxidants help repair the body, renew cells, and essentially aid in slowing the aging process. In the UK, seasonal foods include rhubarb, elderflower, nettle, spinach, raspberries, gooseberries, plums, apricots, strawberries, cherries, fennel, courgette, cucumber, peas, lettuce, chard, fennel, rocket and peppers, and plenty more! This is the season to go plant-based, so indulge in all the colours you can find at your local market!

02 Summer Herbs

Herbs used in Summer provide a naturally cooling antidote to hot and balmy days. Whilst the wild garlic has been and gone and spicy wild mustard greens are wilting, cooling herbs like fennel, basil, mint, coriander and dill are ready to pick at the height of Summer. In the world of Ayurvedic health, one of the most important principles is ‘like increases like; opposite brings balance’. This means that when the weather outside is hot, we benefit from consuming cooling foods and herbs –using the opposite quality to encourage a sense of balance.

You can add cooling herbal aromas to your home too, with organic lavender essential oil or peppermint As for the fresh herbs, try topping salads with parsley, which is very beneficial for liver health. Add coriander to curries for its added ability to aid in detoxing heavy metals, or make a mocktail with cooling mint from the garden!