Sour - The Flavor of The Wood Element

Lemons, limes and vinegar.

Pucker up! If you haven't already started pursing your lips and salivating, you will soon.  Each of the 5 Flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty) all have medicinal properties and correspond to a specific season and organ system.  Learning how to use each flavor can work wonders for your body and health. In this blog we will focus on sour - the flavor of the Wood element and the season of Spring.

Sour activates the blood and moves stagnation.

Want proof?  Next time you feel a bit miffed, frustrated or suddenly want to rage, drink 2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  The hot rush you will feel is Liver Qi stagnation breaking up and pushing through.  This trick is fine for an occasional kick, especially in the Spring, however it's a band-aid, it doesn't solve why you are getting stuck. You may need to delve further as to why you feel a lot of frustration.

Sour astringes and absorbs, drying up "loose, leaking and sagging" conditions.

Ummm, yum?  Doesn't sound fun.  The truth is sour foods are fabulous at helping to clear up problems that involve the loss of body fluids.  These include: excessive sweating, diarrhea, heavy menstrual flow, urinary dribbling or leaking, and bleeding.

Sour flavor enters the Liver and Gallbladder and The Spring Season

Sour foods help to stimulate the flow of secretions like bile from the gallbladder and digestive enzymes. If Liver Qi isn’t moving properly it will overact on Stomach and Spleen and cause digestive issues like GERD, acid reflux, gas and bloating. Sour increases digestion and help move fats out of the system, so make sure you have some sour foods in your diet if you high cholesterol.  It also helps promote the secretion of hormones.  Think of it as a blood activator and stagnation eliminator helping to clean and detoxify your system. Spring's natural energy is to lighten up and move forward, shaking off the deep, slumbering and contemplative state of winter and the foods of spring perfectly support this. They give the body a break from the heavier and fattier foods of winter. It's time to get up and go. This is also one of the best times of year to do a cleanse or an appropriate fast.

Sour acts on the ligaments and tendons

Adequate sour is needed to tighten up overly loose ligaments and tendons.  However, in excess it will tighten up the muscles and tendons, harden the flesh, and creates wrinkles the skin and dry the lips - liken it to a rubber band that gets overly dried out.  Greatly reduce or avoid sour if you are overly tight.   Contraindicated in arthritis and overly tight neck muscles and ligaments.

Sour Foods - The flavor of spring, sour foods stimulate the bile, Qi, Blood and Fluids. Sours include

• Aduki bean

• Apples

• Arugula

• Asparagus

• Berries - the more tart the better.

• Cheeses

• Cherry

• Chicory

• Chokecherry

• Citrus

• Crab apples

• Cranberries

• Currants

• Dandelion root and leaf

• Dill

• Grapefruit

• Kefir

• Kombucha

• Lemon

• Lime

• Oxymels

• Raspberry and raspberry leaf

• Pickles

• Quinoa

• Pistachio

• Rhubarb

• Romaine

• Rye

• Sauerkraut

• Sorrel

• Sprouts

• Tea tree

• Vinegar - and anything made with vinegar from sauerkraut to a simple salad dressing, oxymels, to sauerkraut and vinegar taffy - yes, it’s a real thing.

• Wintergreen

• Yogurt
  

Here’s to a perkier you!