N.B. This article was originally published in September 2018 but has been updated for accuracy and relevance.

January is traditionally the time to detox, but as Naturopathic Nutritionist Amy Huggins explains, a gentle Autumn cleanse could keep you free of coughs and colds this winter.

Autumn is officially upon us, and while most of us tend to get excited about the impact the new season has on our wardrobe, few will also be thinking about how we should be adapting our diets to prepare for the onset of Winter.

The Autumn Equinox last month heralded a shift in temperature, energy and temperatures. Since ancient times this change in season has been regarded as an important time to cleanse and purify to promote good health.

Just as the trees begin to shed their leaves, Fall is the perfect time to shed and cleanse toxins from our system to boost our resilience for the winter months.

You may associate the term detox with the month of January, when the nation collectively and desperately attempts to undo the damage of the holiday season over indulgence by restricting calories, or imbibing suspicious smelling teas to cleanse exhausted livers and banish the bloat. But a gentle Autumn cleanse is just as crucial, ensuring that we welcome winter with strong immunity and clarity of mind.

Benefits of an autumn cleanse include reducing inflammation, resting digestion, helping respiratory issues, reducing excess fat and bloat and alkalising the body. Boosting immunity now will ensure we are less prone to coughs and colds later in the year.

But before I lose you altogether, please know that cleansing and detoxing doesn’t have to equal starvation and deprivation. Just a few tweaks to your diet now will have an important effect on your wellbeing for the rest of the year.

In Chinese 5 elements, Autumn is associated with the metal element which governs the mind, organisation and stability. This time (which is  about reflecting inwards), is also associated with the emotions grief and sadness, so letting go of any negative feelings that are not serving us is imperative to growth and healing.  Processing and releasing emotions through journaling is a powerful way to let go, creating space for new energy.

Emotional and physical cleansing seem to go hand in hand. When we release toxins from our bodies, we also release stored toxic emotions leaving us feeling lighter in both body and mind.

An autumn detox should focus on the lungs and large intestine which are the vital organs traditionally associated with this time of year. Drinking enough water, and eating a diet of fibre-rich vegetables keeps the bowels moving, which is key to the detoxification process.

How to detox in autumn

1. Reduce your intake of cool uncooked foods, and increase warming foods. Reduce your portions of fruit to 2 a day favouring apples and pears.

2. Replace spring and summer greens with root vegetables- pumpkin, yams, sweet potato, carrots, beets, turnips and fennel (try these soup recipes for delicious warming meals that keep you full: Sweet Potato, Coconut and Red Lentil or Carrot, Coconut and Coriander)

3. Drink a minimum of 2 litres  of filtered water. Drink 1 pint on rising with the juice of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar. This will flush to liver, kick start digestion and promote fat burning.

4. Make a large pan of organic root vegetable soup and sip throughout the day

5. Incorporate autumn spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to aid digestion and boost circulation.

Here’s a suggested menu for the day

Breakfast

Organic porridge oats with stewed apple, cinnamon and hemp milk

Lunch

Sweet potato and carrot soup

Dinner

Organic roasted vegetables with tahini sauce and sauerkraut

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