Indulge in the Sweet Fruits of Summer!

 Perusing our local Farmers’ Markets, you may relish in the overwhelming array of spring greens, sprinkled with a few herbs and a side of blushing cherries. Even with the early onset of summer weather, seasonal fruits still are sparse. Have patience! Anticipate the ripening of strawberries and apricots. Watermelons – disappearing icons of Idaho’s banana belt – may not be available by July 4th, yet well worth the wait to buy them fresh and local.

The fruits of summer are undeniably sweeter, more flavorful, and juicier than during any other time of year; and local seasonal foods are more nutrient-dense than those plucked before their prime and shipped year round across thousands of miles. Summer fruits are designed to fatten up animals – including us humans – during the sunny, warm months in preparation for the days and longer nights in the fall and winter. The sweetness, addictive by nature, lures us into eating more fruit and longer days often lead to eating more often while, traditionally, also being more active.

Summer abundance is a nutritional phenomenon based on certain rhythms that are inherent to all living things, akin to hibernation, migration and nocturnal cadence. These rhythms – from circannual to circadian – directly influence metabolism and nutrient status and are fundamental to evolution, even influencing reproduction and germination. Further, food and rhythms also coax each other in a mutual way. For example, eating breakfast is like winding your own, rhythmic clock whereas staying up late makes you want to eat more. Even eating different percentages of carbohydrates-to-fats at different times of the year will change the role of cortisol, gene expression and inflammation in the body. Because we have access to fruits year-round – even tropical fruits ripening half a world away in their own growing seasons – we may overlook the fleeting weeks of nourishing local fruits at their peak.

Eating in contrast to the seasons hinders the biological pace of the earth.

Humans’ disharmonious habits over the past century can, in part, explain the epidemic of obesity and chronic disease. In general, we ignore the rhythms and roles of food on the body, largely because we are only beginning to understand the functionality of these natural processes. Beets, carrots, and other roots that develop over summer months are capable of resting in the ground for months (or longer), while squash and onions can survive in the pantry through the winter, providing a different kind of sweetness well after the growing season has ended. These are not the foods to consume en masse in the summer.

We no longer require starchy roots to provide winter fuel for our cells; rather, we are beckoned by sugar-concentrated revelry of nature’s candy: fruit. Balance red and purple fruits with citrus, leafy greens, beans, and herbs for a boost of polyphenols – plant nutrients such as flavones and anthocyanins (also affected by environmental factors – weather, soil health, drought, and more).

Too much science for a summer day? Then to ‘summer it all up,’ if you’d like to synchronize with your innate rhythms of sleep cycles, mealtimes, and energy balance, eating with the seasons is one way to begin. Make seasonal, local fruits and veggies – cultivated the way nature intended – the spotlight in your meals, snacks, and desserts. You’ll have lots more energy for hiking or cycling, swimming and camping throughout the summer.

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REFERENCE

Arola-Arnal, A., Cruz-Carrión, Á., Torres-Fuentes, C., Ávila-Román, J., Aragonès, G., Mulero, M., Bravo, F. I., Muguerza, B., Arola, L., & Suárez, M. (2019). Chrononutrition and Polyphenols: Roles and Diseases. Nutrients, 11(11), 2602. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112602