Naturopathic strategies to cope with seasonal transitions

By Carolina Brooks, BA, IFMCP

Autumn and winter are times for transitions. As the days get shorter, colder, and darker, humans, through an evolutionary survival mechanism, adapt our metabolism and become more fuel efficient in the face of food scarcity. Hunger and weight often increase as we have a natural tendency to store more fat and crave sugar in the colder months, so it’s important to recognize satiety signals may be dysregulated and encourage patients to maintain blood sugar balancing strategies and eat optimal amounts of good quality fat, lean protein, and fiber to maintain satiety. 

Mood and immune function are often negatively affected by reduced light exposure, with many people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For my susceptible patients, I encourage avoidance of sunglasses, and the use of a 10,000 lux light box every morning for around twenty minutes. We often use herbal combinations which include St. John’s Wort, rhodiola, rosemary tulsi, liquorice, and oat straw. These herbs also all have nervine, nootropic, and nervotrophorestorative properties, which can improve cognitive function.

A 2016 study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated changes in cognitive ability between summer and winter months for attention tasks, with reduced brain activity and efficiency in winter, while memory task performance peaked in autumn months, so this is often an important area of focus in order to maintain productivity at work.

We may also see a surge in flus, colds and other viruses occurring around the change of seasons. This is due to seasonal allergies increasing mucosal inflammation, which facilitates the colonization of microbes, viruses being able to survive better in the colder months, and increased exposure to microbes in enclosed spaces where central heating systems are recirculating air, such as public transport systems. Vitamin D is crucial for mood, immune function, and other body processes.  Levels tend to drop with reduced exposure to sunlight, so I check my patients’ levels regularly, supplement where appropriate, and encourage dietary sources such as mushrooms and oily fish.

I often use high short-term doses of vitamin A with patients where appropriate, alongside high doses of star anise, elderberry, echinacea, thyme, rosemary, and other antiviral herbs in tincture, powder, and tea form, which makes preparations extremely easy to counter viral activity and support immune function. 

I also encourage patients to make their own versions of fire cider in advance of autumn, a traditional herbal folk preparation, which is an apple cider vinegar and manuka honey oxymel with a combination of onion, garlic, horseradish, chili, and whatever else they want to add. They can then top up their preparation throughout the winter months and have a tablespoonful daily. My patients who make fire cider every year never get sick in the winter months.

For many patients who have seen good improvements in mold symptoms in the summer months, the onset of rain and damp can see a deterioration in symptoms. One of my patients who monitors her heartrate variability with an Oura ring noticed an exacerbation in menstrual, migraine, and respiratory symptoms during the autumn months as it started to rain more in the U.K. She had to move her bed into her living room as the symptoms worsened to the point where she was unable to go to work, even with our herbal treatment, key supplements, and dietary changes. In her case, symptoms, energy levels, and heartrate variability dramatically improved when she invested in efficient dehumidifiers and air filters for her home. It’s crucial to manage a potentially damp or moldy environment if there is no possibility of moving to a new home or office and removing yourself from exposures.

Finally, the body finds cold weather and seasonal transitions stressful. Encourage regular Epsom salt baths for relaxation and to reduce muscular tension. In Ayurveda, the end of fall and the onset of winter energetically correspond to the Vata Dosha, a cold, dry, deficient, changeable, and windy state. Basic Ayurvedic nutritional strategies include avoiding sugar and mucus-forming foods such as dairy, reducing cold and raw foods in colder months, increasing low cooked stews and dishes such as bone-broths, kitchari, or congee, and replacing some of their daily glasses of water with warming and Vata-reducing herbal teas such as cinnamon, ginger, licorice, and cardamom. Encourage proper hydration to mitigate dry and irritated skin and eyes, which are exacerbated by central heating, and ensure patients eat a good array of colorful fruit and vegetables for optimal phytonutrient intake.

Stress management and maintaining a healthy sleep and exercise schedule are key. Mindfulness meditation, Heartmath, deep belly breathing, and other stress-reducing strategies, which your patients should be maintaining throughout the year in any case, can help them to maintain balance and reach optimal health. By preventing niggling seasonal illness, it frees up your patients to focus their efforts on the deeper chronic health concerns they came to see you for in the first place.

References

Mathie R.T., Frye K., Fisher P. (2015) Homeopathic Oscillococcinium for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 1. Art No: CD001957. Retrieved from: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001957.pub6/epdf/full

Meyer C., Muto V., Jaspar M., Kussé C., Lambot E., Chellappa S.L., Degueldre C., Balteau E., Luxen A., Middleton B., Archer S.N., Collette F., Dijk D., Philliips C., Maquet P., Vandewalle G. (2016) Seasonality in human cognitive brain responses

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb 2016, 201518129.  Retrieved from: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2016/02/04/1518129113.full.pdf