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Topics>
questions, answers, discussion
digestive difficulties
olfolkie
6 posts
Feb 21, 2008
11:55 AM
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I recieved this message in my home email, and JoAnn kindly gave permission for me to post her question here. Any ideas? I will post my reply to her (short version!) so see what you think- laurie
Hi Laurie-
I have a food question..I can't find any answers in spite of lots of googling. Is there something in squash (acorn or butternut) that can be really hard to digest? I've noticed in the past few years my stomach is not happy when I eat it..made roasted squash soup yesterday and proved my point-bad day! But all things I read say squash is easy to digest...???
Thanks
JoAnn
If there's even a website you could point me to that would be great. I just like to know how things work...
Last Edited on 21-Feb-2008 11:57 AM
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olfolkie
7 posts
Feb 21, 2008
12:38 PM
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Hi JoAnn!
About squashes..I believe one is a winter and one is a summer variety. The butternut is somewhat cooling, and both are fairly sweet in their effect and slightly acidic. My estimate of your physiology just from being around you a little, is that you may have struggles with coldness, and lowered digestive fires. So things that produce more coolness in the body may not set well with you. I would have to ask you more questions to see if you have more problems with too much dryness or too much moisture. At this time of year it may be that a weakened digestion could produce an overlay of cloggy wet, sluggish signs and symptoms, whatever underlying issues you may have. Hard to keep fires up in this weather! In Minnesota!
A lot of my thoughts are directed by remembering your enthusiasm this past Christmas over the dried candied ginger and candied citrus peel. That in itself is a big clue about what digestive problems you have, and what foods you could use or avoid to improve your digestion.
Roasting things of course makes them warmer in effect, and soup makes them goopier and wetter. If there were a lot of fiber-y things in the soup, including a lot of the squash itself, this could be like putting wood on a campfire that hasn't really started burning yet..causing the fire to get really smoky and almost go out. The overall sweetness of the squash may also be too much for weakened digestive fires to handle.
So here are some suggestions.. I would need more information to make recipe suggestions more tailored to you and more likely to work..but I will try anyway to help you get some ideas:
1.Try less squash per soup, and possibly make it a smooth soup, not with chunks of squash. Less work for that low fire to try to burn.
2.Try a touch of miso in the stock..this adds a bit of digestive heat and rebuilds possible depletion.
3.Try seasoning it with a little dried ginger and citrus peel. Of course this is warming, and stimulates digestion ..is drying but not too much in the context of soup. Has more of an effect of keeping the pot stirred, so to speak.
4.A small amount of onion and garlic may help..chop pretty fine, saute them separately in a little vegetable stock, very small amount of olive oil and (real) soy sauce, then add them to the soup pot or blender.
5.I don't know if you eat meat but rebuilding depletion is really helped by making your stock with cracked bones, simmered for a long time, as a base. If you are more veggie a miso and/or barley stock might be good.
Depending on how much warmth you need you can make this into a really spicy, rebuilding and stimulating mug of soup, or a gentle soothing sip before dinner or at lunch to quietly stoke the digestive fires. General rule: First warm digestion, dry and clear out guck a little, then treat the underlying constitutional problem, which I think is generally about cold, dry and deficiency. So you may do things that work for now to warm, rebuild deficiency and dry things just a little, but have to change a few recipes later, especially also when the season and your body changes.
A good place to start is by having fun identifying what foods have what effect in the body..are they cooling, moistening, drying, heating, do they settle into mud or stir things up, are they rebuilding or centering or cause scattering and dispersing of energy? Any of these qualities could be good depending on your circumstances. Also, look at your symptoms and see if you can identify their qualities; wet? dry? cool? heat? sludgy and sinking or scattered and flying all over? Then use foods to counter and balance those symptoms.
I will supply information on websites in the next email- here are two of my favorite books:
"Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine, Volume 1: Diagnosis and Treatment" by Micheal and Lesley Tierra, Lotus Press c. 1998 **Chapter 13: Whole Nutrition** (very simple but thorough explanations for Western brains)
"Healing With Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition" by Paul Pitchford, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley Ca. c. 1993...concepts sometimes over my head but lots and lots of great recipes and ideas. Food for thought indeed!
Note: for other folks reading this- the recipe suggestions may help or not depending on your unique needs; that is why the general principles of knowing your body's signals and what foods balance them out is really applicable, whoever (and wherever) you are! -laurie
Last Edited on 21-Feb-2008 12:40 PM
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olfolkie
9 posts
Feb 21, 2008
12:47 PM
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Hi JoAnn! Here is a website with "Food Energetics" ideas, also another really great reading list. Enjoy!
http://www.aaaom.org/FOOD%20ENERGETICS.htm
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