Even though it seems like winter is determined to hold on, spring is on its way. And, like the natural world around us, as we head into the thawing season our bodies are beginning to shift into a new seasonal gear.

This can often result in changes to our digestion, energy levels, metabolic health and overall mood. I know that for myself at this time of year, I begin to crave fresh foods, warm morning sun and even feel my appetite dip when it comes to overall intake.

Our ancestors would have been much more attuned to this seasonal malaise, being limited to food stores and what was left in the pantry this time of year. In many ways I think our bodies remember this, and our appetite and digestion become a bit finicky this time of year, even though we now have access to a variety of fresh foods throughout the year.

From a traditional, natural health perspective, for most of us early spring requires a little extra focus on digestive and metabolic health as we transition into a different season, temperature wise and in terms of energy output. Because we aren’t out of the grip of winter quite yet, we can begin to support the inner spring of our body by adding some enhanced hydration to our days, especially in the morning.

For a simple morning tonic to support your systems in this “thawing” season you will need:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Pinch of salt (sea salt or regular salt)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or ginger powder
• honey to taste

Combine all the above ingredients and enjoy as a warm first drink of the day. If you tried the fire honey recipe I shared a few issues ago, you could mix in a half to a full tablespoon of fire honey with lemon juice, salt and warm water for a similar effect.

Sipping this concoction prior to your morning coffee or breakfast warms up your digestive system, stimulating those important digestive juices and enhancing nutrient absorption. The tonic’s warmth stimulates the nervous system and gently wakes up our physiology for the day. The lemon juice supplies vitamin C and when combined with salt, provides a dose of electrolytes to complement the rest of your daily hydration.

This tonic is especially helpful if you find yourself waking up feeling sluggish, digestively or otherwise, or stiff in the joints. Ginger provides a gentle anti-inflammatory effect and boosts circulation. Cinnamon has a similar effect, while also regulating blood sugars and supporting metabolic health.

Stick to a lower dose of the spices if you are on blood thinners or if you have blood sugar conditions. Use caution if you are in the early stage of pregnancy or experiencing acute or unmanaged heart conditions. Always consult your health care provider if you are on new medications or navigating chronic health conditions.

Seasons of transition can take their toll on our overall well-being.

Through late winter into early spring, our bodies begin to feel the building energy that comes with increasing daylight, but this is juxtaposed with the fatigue of winter dragging on. It’s not uncommon to hear in the clinic at this time of year complaints of sluggish digestion, restlessness, dragging cold and flu symptoms and energy issues. Caring for our digestive health is an important aspect of supporting whole health but becomes even more important in this transition season.

The best description I’ve ever read about our digestive system compared digestive function to the function of a compost pile. A healthy compost pile requires just the right balance of moisture and heat to appropriately break down what’s added to it and to produce an effective product. Our digestive system works in much the same way. Digestive fluids, such as bile and stomach acid, function as the necessary “heat”, initiating breakdown and absorption through the gut. The gut lining, made up of mucous membranes and microbiome, houses the moisture that helps move food and waste along the chain for either absorption or elimination. Of course, this is a very simplified and summarized explanation.

When we have too much heat and not enough moisture, or vice versa, we can experience symptoms like irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, indigestion, slow or no elimination or elimination that occurs too quickly, malabsorption of nutrients, pain and reflux. Different foods can affect all these symptoms differently, however when we really break it down (pun intended), often what’s most helpful isn’t major diet changes so much as it is supporting the foundational needs of gut health and balancing the moisture to heat ratio.

A flavour profile that is traditionally linked to bile production and improving digestive functioning is the bitter flavour. Lucky for us, finding bitter flavours is easy to do in our western diet, though perhaps uncommonly turned to. For those who experience bloating, cramping, constipation and gassiness, adding a bitter flavour in the form of tea or taste can be an effective way to get the best of our inner composting system online and soothe the symptoms associated with imbalances.

Peppermint is one of the most well-researched and proven herbs to combat irritability in the digestive tract. Research has shown peppermint to be an extremely effective remedy for irritable bowel syndrome. Not only does it support a decrease in pain and tension through the digestive tract, beneath its fresh minty flavour there’s a mild bitter which works to stimulate the production of bile, circulation, stomach acid and appropriate breakdown of nutrients.

Citrus peel has a long history of being used as a primary bitter remedy in many cultures. The peel contains a high amount of vitamin C, too, which supports the lining of our gut while providing a pre-biotic boost to the gut biome.

Ginger provides our system with a gentle bitter and warm spice, settling and soothing while supporting nutrient breakdown.

Lemon juice with water bolsters our stomach acid and capacity for breaking down food within the gut.

The recipe offered here is for a simple digestive tea you can try at home. Ideally, this tea can be sipped warm or cool about thirty minutes prior to meals. Alternatively, you can also drink it if you’re experiencing acute digestive discomfort.

If digestive issues are common for you, it’s important to seek medical advice from a qualified health professional. While many digestive concerns can be resolved at home with nutritional and lifestyle-based adjustments, symptoms related to digestion can also be a signal of broader health issues. Speak with your trusted health providers if symptoms worsen or persist.

Digestive health tea

• 1 tbsp. dried peppermint or 2 tbsp. fresh peppermint (Any mint can be used as a substitute.)
• 1/2tbsp. fresh or dried lemon or orange peel
• 1/8 tbsp. dried powdered ginger
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
• Honey to taste
• 2 cups hot water

Combine all ingredients in a tea strainer or French press and cover with boiling water to steep, covered, for 10-20 minutes. Sweeten with honey if desired and store in your refrigerator for up to three days.

During the cold winter months on the Prairies, we know the power of a good cup of tea or bowl of soup, chili or stew to warm us down to the bones.

Traditionally, many of the ingredients and methods of cooking this time of year served exactly that purpose.

A recipe that I’ve come to love as a cold season support is “fire honey,” a sweeter spin on the more commonly known “fire cider,” which pairs apple cider vinegar with onions and other spices to make a heavy hitting dose of immune and circulatory support.

Fire honey takes the heat of fire cider and adds the benefits of honey to the mix. I’ve found this a really great remedy for the “I feel like I’m starting to come down with something” sensation that comes along with dips in temperature and the rotating seasonal colds and flus.

The spices in fire honey have long histories of being used to combat colds, flus, viruses and beyond. They are all known anti-inflammatories and immune system supports. They also stimulate healthy digestion while easing winter tension and joint aches.

Cayenne is renowned for supporting the cardiovascular system and healthy circulation on top of its benefits for inflammation, pain, stagnation, metabolism and digestion.

For those who struggle with cold extremities, ginger is known to bring warmth to the lower body and support the movement of energy and circulation throughout.

Cinnamon has similar properties, supporting circulation, stimulating metabolic health and energy.

Fire Honey

• 1 cup unpasteurized honey
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. turmeric

Mix spices and take daily or often with teas.

You can also add warm water with some lemon juice for an easy, digestive tea or enjoy on its own as a small spoonful to ease sore throats.

Store in the fridge for up to a few months.

All the herbs in fire honey are stimulating and warming which makes them a wonderful pairing to honey’s soothing nature.

Turmeric holds all the above properties and is also popular for its anti-inflammatory benefits. Likewise with black pepper, which is one of our most socially common digestive stimulants.

When adding regular use of spices such as these to your diet it is important to consult your health care practitioners, especially if you’re on medications that serve specific roles. For example, people on blood thinners, managing diabetes or cardiovascular complaints may need to monitor how larger doses of these spices affect them.

People in early pregnancy are advised to use caution and forgo this recipe.

This article does not constitute medical advice and is offered simply as inspiration for using your spice cabinet in the fall and winter.

We are a hardy bunch here on the Prairies.

We’ve evolved from generations that certainly had to be, to survive.

And whether you enjoy Prairie winters or try to avoid them, it’s important to find ways to cultivate your inner warmth and resiliency so that you can emerge from the cold season ready to move into spring feeling well-nourished.

Traditionally, it’s common practice to increase our intake of soups, stews, chilis and liquid, nutritionally dense meals through the winter months. Bone broth is one of my go-to winter supports. It can be infused not only with the collagen and mineral-dense benefits from the bones themselves, but also with warming spices, nutritionally dense veggies and herbs and, of course, the simple benefit of “eating” our hydration.

There is something to be said for the act of making broth, too. Compiling and chopping ingredients, the careful attention to timing on boils and simmers, the smells and eventual tasting all require us to come into the moment and engage our senses.

Besides nutritional value, broths can help the gut lining heal, become more resilient and improve our gut microbiome. Because digestive health is one of the pillars of overall well-being, bone broth serves an important role in mental and physical wellness. The basic method of making broth, which I’ve provided below, is simple and there are endless variations.

I find I use chicken most often, based on what my household tends to buy. You can use any form of bone (ham, beef, etc.) and many butchers/stores will sell broth or stock bones specifically for this purpose.

I have also taken to saving veggie scraps to add to the broth. (I keep a bag in the freezer for leftover pepper, onion [including peel], carrot, celery, garlic, potato, ginger, etc.) For a very basic broth, all you really need is an onion, a few carrots and maybe some celery along with bones.

Here is my staple recipe:

• 1 chicken carcass or 2-3 beef bones
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 2-3 medium-sized carrots
• 1-2 onions
• A few slices of ginger, a few cloves of garlic
• A tablespoon or so of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• Enough water in a large pot to cover ingredients

Rough chop the veggies just enough to fit into a large stock pot. Add a tiny bit of olive oil and heat the pot until there is a bit of sizzle and aroma from the onions. Add the carcass and cover with water. Adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar will help extract goodness from the bones.

Bring to a boil and let simmer for 6-12 hours. For chicken, you’ll want to aim for a simmer time of 6-8 hours. For other types of bigger bones, aim for 12-24 hours for best results. Generally, the longer you let it simmer, the more collagen and minerals will be pulled from the bones and cartilage.

I’ll often add in a small chunk of chaga mushroom and a tablespoon or a few roots of dried dandelion and/or burdock. Dandelion and burdock root both provide a wonderful boost to our gut biome, liver metabolism and kidney health along with nutritionally supportive mineral content. Chaga mushrooms from a trusted source are well known as a winter nutrition superstar, supporting our immune systems, acting as an anti-inflammatory and providing important anti-oxidants.

Usually, halfway into the simmer time, I’ll also add a selection of the following, if available:

• A handful of dried nettle leaf, chickweed leaf or alfalfa for nutritional bonus points.
• Depending on the season, dried or fresh beet greens.
• A handful of dried calendula flowers (including green base).
• A dried cayenne pepper.
• Whatever fresh or dried savoury herbs catch my fancy: sage, rosemary, thyme, etc.

Once the broth has reached your desired simmer time, turn off the heat and let the broth cool enough to strain out the solids.

Bone broth can be sipped on its own or used to cook with other ingredients. The obvious cooking option is to use it as a base for any kind of soup. I also like to cook rice, lentils or quinoa with it.

At some of my most challenging points, simply sipping bone broth in the mornings was one of the things that got me through the day.

Kathlyn Hossack is an athletic therapist, somatic practitioner and clinical herbalist based in Winnipeg, Man. She owns Evoke Body + Mind and provides consultation in person and online to those seeking guidance in rehabilitation and healthy living practices. For more information, visit evokebodymind.ca.