Wholistic Jen

By Jennifer Whitmire MS, MEd, MH, CHES, NEP

Spring symbolizes new life.  The earth changes from dark and grey to full of color and light.  Use this time to brighten and lighten your meals.  Go from sleepy, restful winter to the vitality of spring.   

Spring Cleaning has a very rich history from century old pagan festivals to ancient Jewish traditions to our more modern public health initiatives of the early 1900s.  The Spring Equinox marks a change in the seasons and how the sun moves across the earth.  It is a time for change, rebirth, and renewal.  The Jewish tradition of cleaning the house and getting rid of all traces of yeast to prepare for the Passover, the “Shaking of the House” tradition from the Persian New Year, the churches cleaning for Lent or in preparation for Easter are all ways that our homes and places of worship are cleaned every spring.

In the U.S., Spring Cleaning was launched as a public health initiative by Johnson & Johnson to stop the spread of disease in the early 1900s.  After the “Germ Theory” of Pasteur and further studies by Koch, Johnson & Johnson started working on sanitized surgical tools and vaccines and wrote a free book to teach people how to clean inside and outside of their homes. 

Before electricity, people cleaned their homes each spring when it was finally warm enough to open the window to get rid of dust and soot and fumes from coal furnaces. The spring breezes could help carry away the dust, and it was still cool enough that the bugs weren’t too bad.  

My favorite is the theory of Natural Cleansing.  When we eat seasonally and locally, we naturally cleanse and detox.  Depending on where you live, what’s available to you right now that is in season? I can eat the spring greens, herbs, dandelions, wild onions and garlic, chickweed, nettles, and cleavers, and I have some greens in the garden.  That’s it. If we still had chickens, they would be laying eggs now.  If I had dried herbs and foods last fall, I would probably be about out of them. All I would have to eat is these nutrient-dense greens.  I would be eating foods that are high in minerals and vitamin C and very low in fat. None of these foods are starchy carbs.  If I were a meat eater, the animals would be breeding, nesting, and giving birth. This would not be a good time to hunt.  I would be eating lighter, shedding the winter weight, and regaining my energy, so I can start planting seeds, weeding, and preparing for a season of food.

Spring cleaning is more than just cleaning house or detoxing the liver.  This is a time of mindshift.  The dark, lonely days of winter and leafless trees keep us inside and isolated. We don’t spend much time outdoors, there aren’t a lot of festivals and events, and we enter into the Lenten season. A time of sitting in quiet meditation and reflection. Spring signals a time of change.  There is a lightness to the air, the light green of new leaves, the bright green of spring herbs, the spring festivals, outdoor sporting events, Easter egg hunts, and end of school parties, performances, and recitals brings us all together. The weather has us opening windows to fresh air and exercising outside and spending more time with friends and family. There’s a whole change in activity and mindset.  And even with time change, if you don’t have to get up too early, the darker mornings allow you sleep in a little later for that “rest and digest” mode of repairing and rebuilding the body.

If I didn’t have the convenience of grocery stores that ship me foods from all over the world, I would be cleansing naturally, the way nature intended.  I LOVE FOOD, so I won’t only be eating what’s in my backyard.  While I do love my herbs and spring greens, I also love avocados that definitely will not grow here.  I do strive to eat as locally and seasonally as possible, and I strongly believe that our body was designed to eat this way. Dr. Christopher taught us to “use the herbs under your own fig tree.”  We shouldn’t be shipping foods to the other side of the planet and searching for exotic herbs to nourish and heal.  We have everything we need for our body in this place right here. 

Use the change in the seasons to lighten up your meals.  Shed the heaviness of winter and embrace the energy of spring.

Want help lightening up your meals and cleansing this spring?  Join my 14 day Love Your Liver Cleanse. This spring, I partnered with my “Jennifer Twin,” Jennifer Swank.  Together, we have created a Spring Cleansing Program that is gentle, effective, and sets you up for success after the cleanse.

Get ready to feel the energy of Spring!

We went through this cleanse during CREATE A Healthier You, and for me I finally feel like “ME,” again.  The stress of the holidays threw me into an autoimmune flare, and by tuning into my meals and detoxing not only my foods, but my thoughts, emotions, and clutter, I finally let things go! Let us help you do the same.