We are so responsive to our surroundings that it can sometimes be difficult to even recognize how they influence us. I’ve had people come into my office with complicated theories born of their concerns about symptoms they’re experiencing, only to realize that they’re actually fine and their bodies are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do given the other factors in their lives that they were overlooking. When we observe ourselves in the context of our situations so much more becomes clear.
For example, I often go all day in hot summer weather without ever feeling hungry, but less than ten minutes after entering an air-conditioned space I’m thinking about what I want to eat. In that short amount of time my body has responded to what it interprets as a different climate and created new cravings and priorities. When I walk back outside, into the heat of the day, the hunger disappears and is replaced by thirst. Instead of worrying that this is indicative of a blood sugar imbalance or dehydration, I know that my body is responding appropriately to its environs. But it can be easy to overlook how strong an influence something as much a part of our daily lives as air-conditioning can have on us.
Someone was telling me just the other day that she has found eating seasonally to work very well for her. Just about the time she starts to get tired of eating so much of one type of fruit or vegetable it goes out of season, and another one comes to the forefront. It felt like she was speaking from my own experience. This summer I was particularly blessed with abundant access to the freshest of foods, with many of my meals made from just-harvested ingredients. And as much as I expected to miss asparagus and arugula after their spring season ended, I was too busy enjoying the abundance of perfect summer squashes, wild berries and purslane to feel like I was being deprived of anything that wasn’t in season at the moment.
Excerpted from the September, 2009 installment of my monthly column, published in INK Magazine.
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