119: Seasonal Plant Cycling
Biblical people weren’t eating ginormous salads or plates of broccoli.
In fact, you don’t see a lot of vegetable eating in the Bible at all because that’s not necessarily what was available to them. They were limited to plant foods that were native and seasonal to their region, things like leeks, onion, garlic, fruit, herbs and spices.
In a time when we have access to all plant foods all the time, we’ve lost touch with the idea of seasonal eating and limited food variety. Do we really need tons of different plant species to stay healthy? Or is it better to get less variety but more seasonality when it comes to our plant foods?
Tune into this week’s podcast as we talk about how our bodies are designed to work in sync with the cyclical offerings of nature.
EPISODE 119: Seasonal Plant Cycling
SHOW NOTES
(0:00) Intro
Hello my friend! Welcome back to the club. How are you today?
We are in Week 4 of The Genesis Prescription! Plant Week
Each season of the year is marked by the relation of the Earth to the sun. The reason we have seasons is because the planet is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the sun. So, different parts of the Earth receive more or less sunlight at different times of the year. If the Earth wasn’t tilted, this wouldn’t be the case and we wouldn’t have seasons.
We mark these seasonal changes driven by the sun’s position 4 times a year. We have two solstices - one in the winter and one in the summer. The two solstices occur when the sun’s path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the equator.
We have two equinoxes that happen in the spring and fall when the sun is exactly above the Equator and makes the day and night of equal length.
The day that this episode is coming out is on the summer solstice - it typically occurs on June 20 or 21st - it’s the longest day of the year and marks the official beginning of summer.
I have built them into the Christian Health Club calendar so that we do them together as part of our health and spiritual maintenance.
We do Feast 2 Fast together 5 times a year, we do our seasonal detoxes together 4 times a year, we do nutritional assessments about 3 times a year, we do Self-Coaching Christians every October and then we have Q&A calls on different topics like the gut, hormones and other health topics like that .
We have really gotten into this rhythm so people can anticipate and stay on top of their health goals.
We will open membership again after the next round of Feast 2 Fast which starts August 16th and there will be a small window for those who have done F2F to join the club after that in mid September, so mark your calendars for that.
if you are not in the club you can follow along with this week’s GP goal of getting at least 4 cups of plant food a day OR you can step it up and in addition to that, do a 3 day all plant-based food plan which means no animal-based food (such as dairy, eggs, meat), but also no grains, no nuts, no alcohol - all veggies and fruits - preferably more veggie than fruit, preferably ones that are in season and focusing on the good plant fats like avocado, coconut and olives.
(6:50) Reading Genesis:
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. Genesis 1:29
One of the first things I notice about these passages is that it feels like every other word is seed. It’s mentioned 6 times within those few verses.
The seed is rich in symbolism throughout the Bible
The word is the seed of God. Luke 8:11
What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed.. Luke 13:18
There’s the whole parable about the sower and the seed.
He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6
There are lots of references to sowing seed and bearing fruit. Seeds are important because life starts with a seed -whether it’s a person, a plant or an animal - and seeds reproduce. God establishes and provides food that will reproduce itself and humans would have access to this ongoing supply and become involved in the growth of their food.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15
Foods that live and grow are the ones that make us live and grow.
The earth provides nourishment for us through plant life and through animal life
Animals eat plants that we cannot digest and turn them into nutrition that our bodies can utilize.
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Genesis 2:8-9
We don’t know for sure what trees were in the Garden of Eden but people have pieced together what was likely flourishing there based on the region and what is mentioned throughout the Bible. We know there was a fig tree, because Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves after they discovered they were naked. The famous apple may have been something resembling more of a greenish crab apple or a quince than what we think of as an apple today. Other likely food trees include the black mulberry, pomegranate, pistachios, dates, almonds and grapes. (Reference)
(11:05) Regionality and seasonality of foods:
Biblical people ate what grew in their region. That was what was happening for all of time - people eating what grew in their region - until the globalization of food.
Historically people had limited access to food variety. They ate a lot of the same things over and over because that’s what they could get their hands on.
There was a University of Texas study that looked at the recommendation of dietary diversity and one of the head researchers said “Americans with the healthiest diets actually eat a relatively small range of healthy foods.”
That works for several reasons:
One is that when you build an eating plan around a handful of healthy plant foods and stick with it - you’ve built consistency and habit and those are the golden tickets to good health.
The other reason this works is the simplicity of it - both in building the habit and that you’re not throwing a million different foods at your gut to try and digest.
You don’t see a lot of vegetable eating going on in the Bible.
There’s mention of leeks, onion, garlic - but mostly what you see is fruit, spices - which we’re going to talk about here in a bit - grains or legumes - quite a bit of that including making bread, fish, fowl, meat and dairy.
(16:36) Microbiome:
A key point we have to keep in mind here is that people’s microbiome - the state of their gut bacteria - would have matched up with the foods available in their environment. Remember that we have a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria in our guts - we feed them with the foods we eat, and they feed us back by turning that food into vitamins and usable fuel and fortifying our immune systems.
One of the main reasons it’s recommended for us to eat a variety of plant foods is to help promote diversity of gut bacteria.
Plant foods feed our good gut bacteria which keep us healthy and so the idea is that the more diverse our plant foods, the more diverse our gut bacteria.
There is more research being done on how our gut bacteria shifts, or is meant to shift, according to season - that the strains of bacteria change to accommodate and work with seasonal food availability. .
There was study done on members of a hunter/gatherer African tribe which showed that gut microbes that may have been highly populated in one season, had virtually disappeared the next and it was highly dependent on the foods that needed to be digested within that season.
Another study looking at the seasonal variation of the gut microbiome showed that during the summer, there was a surge of carbohydrate digesting bacteria and that in the winter, more fat digesting bacteria increased.
Summer is the season of more carbs and winter is the season of more fat and protein.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15
Don’t you know God put just what we need, the right food, at just the right time for our best health? I read somewhere how The foods and microbes align with our needs for immune boosting in the winter, decongesting the body in the spring and dissipating the heat in the summer.
If you ARE in the habit of eating your same plant foods over and over, it would be a good idea to throw a few seasonal ones into the mix each quarter, which is what we focus on and do in our plant-based detox each quarter in The CHC.
(20:30) Herbs & Spices:
One way that you CAN increase your plant food intake is by incorporating herbs and spices.
Dr Axe’s book Ancient Remedies and he says Herbs and spices are nature’s most potent medicine. And for example he says, Did you know that turmeric, cilantro and cinnamon are more nutrient dense than broccoli, kale and blueberries?
Traditionally, historically, ancestrally, this is how people would have packed in more healthful nutrition AND made their meals more flavorful and interesting. They were more of an important meal and medicinal staple than we use them for today.
They paid for your wares with the best of all kinds of spices, and with all kinds of precious stones and gold. Ezekiel 27:22
This verse gives us insight into how valuable spices were in Biblical times - traded alongside precious stones and gold!
The difference between herbs and spices is that herbs are the fresh part of the plant while spice is the dried root, dried stalk, seed or dried fruit of the plant. So one is fresh, one is dried.
I heard Dr Axe on another podcast say that spices are the most powerful, then herbs and then veggies.
Let’s talk about some of the Top ones to include and what health benefits they may have.
Oregano is effective at killing bacteria; it’s like nature’s antibiotic.
Garlic can help reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Rosemary is good for reducing inflammation, improving memory, reducing anxiety and enhancing sleep. - those of you in the CHC know how I walk by this rosemary bush on my walk every day and pinch off a little bit and chew it on my way home. Don’t worry the neighbors bush is huge - I’m not cutting into their supply at all. In fact, the plant is by their mailbox so I don’t even think they use it for food. What a missed opportunity!
Thyme has antimicrobrial and anticancer properties and can be used to improve respiratory disorders.
Cilantro helps detox heavy metals and lowers cholesterol and blood sugar.
Parsley improves digestion, supports good bone health and has anticancer properties.
Ginger is good for relieving nausea and an upset stomach and improving digestion.
Cinnamon has been shown to lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
Clove supports immune function and (clove oil) is good for dental health.
Cumin has antiviral and antibacterial properties and is good for aiding digestive ailments like gas and bloating. - even though I think cumin smells like B.O. when you cook with it -sure is tasty.
All of these are tasty and Packed with plant compounds that are antioxidant and anti inflammatory.
(25:45) Plants have been historically used for therapeutic purposes:
God put everything we need into nature - both food and medicine.
Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12
Our ancestors knew how to utilize God’s gifts.
We’ve gotten disconnected from that due to the ease and convenience of over the counter medications but we have a modern convenient option in the form of essential oils.
I did one of my earliest podcasts on the Ancient Oils of Scripture and talked through some information from a book called Healing Oils of the Bible which is a great book and if you are into essential oils and haven’t read it - I highly recommend it.
According to that book There are 33 species of EOs compounds and aromatic plants mentioned in the Bible - there are over 1000 references in some form. The ones referenced in the Healing oils of the Bible book are mostly different than our common go-to oils of today with the exception of Frankincense and Cedarwood which are two really good, commonly used oils.
Frankincense
Frankincense and Myrrh are two most frequently mentioned healing oils of the Bible.
Frankincense is known as a cure-all. Old Egyptian saying - good for everything from gout to a broken head - head to toe. Used as a holy anointing oil
Good for cuts, bruises, colds, skin, focus and mental clarity, headaches, depression, cancer allergies, bronchitis and so much more. When in doubt use Frankincense.
Cedarwood
Egyptians using it over 5000 years ago - as a disinfectant and other medicinal purposes, embalming and in rituals. Cedarwood oil has highest concentration of Ses-qui-ter-pens which are compounds that help oxygenate the brain and support clear thinking. Promotes good sleep as it is a melatonin stimulant.
Other essential essential oils that are wonderful to keep on hand are:
Lavender - it’s good for anxiety. It’s good to help relieve headaches, promote better sleep and it’s good for the skin.
Oregano oil -again, works like an antibiotic
Tea tree oil has potent antiviral properties, it’s good for treating fungal conditions like athlete’s foot.
Peppermint oil is good for an energy lift, sore muscles, and allergy symptoms.
Lemon oil is good for detox and as a cleaning agent - clean your body, clean your house.
Rosemary oil helps enhance memory and concentration.
Clary sage is good for relieving menstrual cramps
Holy basil works as an adaptogen and contains stress fighting compounds.
Clove has off the charts antioxidant properties and helps suppress viral infections and is good for oral health.
Dr Axe has good info on applications in his book.
(31:00) Closing thoughts:
We hear about exotic superfoods that grow across the world - goji/wolf berries native to China, moringa plant native to India, acai berry native to South America , noni plant native to the pacific islands, manuka honey native to New Zealand
We can get very caught up in this (me included - I’m the first one in line to want to try these things) but it’s kind of like shiny diet syndrome in the way that we’re like that must be the magic food I’m missing that’s going to fix my energy problem or help me lose weight or make my skin more beautiful. We get very caught up in the latest and greatest.
We are very fortunate to have exposure to these amazing healthy foods from around the world but there is likely a food with similar properties and benefits that is and has been right under your nose - more local or seasonal to you.
I believe God populated different areas of the earth with its local version of superfood or super plant medicine.
So as we move into plant week for our fourth GP goal, I encourage you to start with the base goal of 4 cups of plant food a day - which might include leafy greens, berries, squash - definitely go for some seasonal foods, but also see how many herbs and spices you can incorporate.
Don’t forget to keep up with your water, your grounding and your sunshine. We are layering in these good habits week by week, establishing a good foundation for our bodies and continuing to honor them in relation to Creation.
(33:56) Outro & Disclaimer
Additional Resources:
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!