Photo by Sonny Abesamis, flickr.com/people/enerva
Welcome to Beauty Is Wellness, a column about the link between nutrition, lifestyle and beauty based on my health coaching practice of the same name. I’m thrilled to share information about my favorite beauty foods, original recipes for beautiful skin, hair and nails and nutritional tips for beautifying from the inside out in the months to come. If you have specific questions about the beauty and nutrition connection that you’d like to have answered in this column, contact me at jolene@beautyiswellness.com.
I’m always amazed that this time of the year—the transition between summer and fall—has its own unique look, feel and smell. The sun and air are changing, ever so slowly, but for a time we’re smack in between two distinct seasons, “living at the instant where the pendulum reverses its swing,” describes nutrition researcher Paul Pitchford his book Healing with Whole Foods. My body and skin feel that difference!
While you savor the unique energy of this transitioning moment of the year, I wanted to share some of the best areas of focus for your beauty and body this fall. If you could keep just three ideas in mind for the fall season, make them: digestion, connection and repair.
I explain why (and how) below. Enjoy this beautiful in-between time, and get prepped for autumn beauty ahead!
Fall Beauty Focus List
- Digestion As the weather gets colder, your digestion revs up to handle all of the warm, heavy food you’ll be eating in the months ahead. Add warm, and warming, foods like ginger, pumpkin and fennel to your diet as the air cools, as well as fermented foods. Oddly enough, relaxing your mind can help your digestion as well. Fall is an ideal time to start a meditation practice, even if that meditation is a regular walk amongst the falling leaves where you focus solely on your breath.
- Repair The intense summer sun left its mark on your skin and hair, even if you were diligent about applying protective sunscreen and hair oils. Some of the best seasonal foods for beauty repair are ready to harvest in the fall, so include them—squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and pumpkin seeds—in your meals. Also include clean protein sources, like wild salmon, hemp seeds, avocado, sardines and quinoa, which are essential for repair.
- Connection The fall is about gathering and storing energy, and focusing inward. But before you find yourself moving too quickly to winter hibernation, take advantage of this time to spend hours in the autumn sun, enjoying the beautiful outdoors and the fall harvest (go get those apples and pumpkins). This will keep you balanced when it’s really time to pull indoors. While you’re at it, detox your indoor environment (toss air fresheners and candles with synthetic fragrance, as well as toxic cleaners) so that your home air stays healthy in the months to come.
Connect with Jolene @JoleneHart