Eating With The Seasons: Why the Body Thrives on Nature’s Calendar

Modern convenience lets us eat any food whenever we want, but this constant access might confuse our bodies’ natural rhythms in ways scientists are still figuring out. Could ignoring nature’s food schedule – not eating with the seasons – affect our health even down to our cells?

The Human Body Is Programmed for Eating With The Seasons

Throughout human evolution, bodies adapted to seasonal fluctuations in food availability. This isn’t just interesting history—it’s encoded in human physiology:

• Circannual Rhythms: Just as humans have daily circadian rhythms, bodies maintain yearly cycles that anticipate seasonal changes in food availability. These yearly body changes can affect your hormones, how your body uses food for energy, and how well you fight off sickness all year.
• Microbiome Adaptation: Gut bacteria populations may naturally shift to better digest seasonal foods available during different times of the year. For example, a study from 2022 about big pandas showed that the tiny helpers in their bellies change with the seasons. They even naturally eat less fat at certain times of the year. (Huang et al., 2022).
• Nutritional Complementarity: Seasonal foods naturally provide the specific nutrients bodies need for environmental challenges.

The Problem with Perpetual Summer

Today’s supermarkets, combined with at-times engineered produce and/or lab-grown foods, create a perpetual summer of abundance, regardless of season. This seemingly positive development has unexpected consequences:

1. Nutritional Dilution: Out-of-season produce is often harvested prematurely and loses significant nutrient density during long-distance transportation.
2. Metabolic Confusion: Consuming summer fruits in winter may disrupt metabolic processes that have evolved to match seasonal food availability.
3. Environmental Impact: The resources required to grow and transport off-season foods create substantial environmental costs that ultimately affect public health (Macdiarmid, 2014).

The Xenohormesis Hypothesis: Plants Signal Seasonal Change to Humans

The xenohormesis hypothesis provides a fascinating biological explanation for why seasonal eating benefits human health. This scientific concept suggests that plants produce specific phytochemicals in response to environmental stressors unique to each season—such as temperature changes, drought, or increased UV exposure. When humans consume these plants, these compounds act as molecular signals, triggering adaptive responses in human cells (Suter & Lucock, 2017).

Seasonal Eating Through a Functional Medicine Lens

With the xenohormesis hypothesis in mind, seasonal eating could potentially be of benefit in the following ways:

• Reduced Inflammation: Seasonal eating patterns typically minimize consumption of processed foods and increase the variety of fresh produce, directly lowering inflammatory markers.
• Improved Digestive Function: Eating with seasonal rhythms supports healthier microbiome diversity and enhanced digestive enzyme production.
• Enhanced Detoxification: Spring greens naturally support liver function. At the same time, winter’s root vegetables provide the fiber needed for proper elimination—exactly when the body needs these functions most.
• Strengthened Immunity: Local, seasonal foods often contain the specific phytonutrients that help address the immune challenges prevalent during that season.

Practical Steps Toward Seasonal Alignment

Individuals don’t need to make dramatic changes to benefit from seasonal eating principles:

• Start with a 25% commitment to seasonal foods, gradually increasing over time
• Shop the perimeter of grocery stores, focusing on what’s most abundant and affordable
• Go to your local farmers’ market to see what foods are really growing near you
• Learn basic preservation methods like freezing and fermenting to extend seasonal bounty

Seasonal eating isn’t about perfection or restriction—it’s about reconnecting with natural cycles that support the body’s innate healing capabilities. By aligning with nature’s rhythms, people can optimize their health in ways that modern medicine is only beginning to understand.

FAQs

1. Why is it helpful to eat foods that grow at different times of the year? Our bodies are made to eat different foods at different times of the year.
2. What’s wrong with eating any food anytime? It might mess up our body’s natural way of working.
3. Do our bodies change with the seasons? Yes, our bodies have yearly cycles that expect different foods.
4. Are foods different depending on the season? Yes, foods grown in their season have more good stuff for us.
5. How can I start eating with the seasons? Try to eat more fruits and veggies that are easiest to find now where you live.

Want to Learn More About Eating With The Seasons?

The team at Innovative Health and Wellness Group believes in naturally looking at your health. One simple way we help you stay healthy is by eating with the seasons. If you’re curious about how changing your diet with the time of year could help you feel better, we can offer guidance.

Reach out to Innovative Health and Wellness Group to talk about how seasonal eating fits into a healthy lifestyle. We’re here to help you understand simple steps to connect with nature’s food calendar!