The 5th Season: Making the Most of Late Summer
That’s right, there’s a fifth season! While in the West we recognize four seasons, Chinese medicine recognizes five, and we’re now in the lesser known fifth season of Late Summer.
Why five seasons?
As nature-based medicine, East Asian medicine is rooted in deep observation of nature and its cycles. The ancients followed a lunisolar calendar that divided the year into 24 segments, each accounting for a 15-degree movement of the sun. This precise tracking guided farming, healthcare, and daily life long before modern technology. That wisdom is still relevant today and observing fifth season can set us up for a good entry into the cooler parts of the year.
Late Summer runs from mid-August until the Fall Equinox (September 22). It’s a time of transition, balance, and grounding. After the peak Yang (high-energy) heat of summer, we start moving toward the cooler, Yin (quieter energy) seasons of fall and winter.
Signs of the Season
One of the clearer signs that this transition has begun is that nights and mornings are getting a little cooler. I’ve been loving this, opening the windows to freshen the house and enjoying my morning coffee or tea with the busy bees and birds in the garden. 😊
In Late Summer, the days are still warm and humid, but those cool dusk-to-dawn breaks will get longer and longer, and the days will start to shorten. This is a transitional season, and is governed by the Earth element, which also governs our digestive organs – the Stomach, Spleen, and Pancreas. This means Late Summer is an especially important time for us to pay attention to digestion, nourishing our systems before the colder months set in.
Support your digestion
Our digestive organs are at the core (pun intended!) of our good health. Our gut transforms food into the energy and nutrients that fuel everything else. In Late Summer, when harvests are abundant, it’s especially important to keep digestion strong so we can make the most of all that seasonal nourishment.
This is the perfect time to enjoy fresh produce: watermelon, cucumbers, and tomatoes help cool and hydrate. As we move closer to fall, add in more yellow and orange foods – squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, and beets. These nutrient-dense foods support digestion and are packed with immune-boosting compounds that will help strengthen your immune system before cold and flu season ramps up.
Simple Tips for Eating in Late Summer
Timing: Eat at regular intervals and try to enjoy meals without distraction. Eat early enough in the evening that your dinner is well digested by the time you head to bed. This will allow your gut to rest and recover while you do!
Temperature: As we move toward fall, shift from cold, raw foods toward cooked, warming meals. Stir-fries, soups, and stews are easier on the digestive system. Skip the ice in your drinks and choose room-temperature or warm beverages instead.
Watch the sweets
It’s natural to crave sweetness this time of year. Root vegetables can satisfy that in a nourishing way, but refined sugar is harder on the body. Too much sweetness overwhelms digestion and creates what Chinese medicine calls dampness. Dampness gunks up the system, impairs digestion, and can cause us to feel really… well… damp.
Dampness is like a heavy, soggy towel: it slows you down and makes everything feel dense and sticky (those super humid afternoons are damp, too!). Signs of dampness in the body include fatigue, brain fog, bloating, joint pain, extra weight, and even a tendency toward feeling down. Keeping sweets in check helps you stay clear, energized, and balanced.
Find seasonal balance
Late Summer is all about moderation. Embrace the sweetness of the season and relish the lazy hazy slowness of the afternoons. But remember that you can overdo it. If you’re taking some time to rest, make sure it’s restorative, and not depleting. Build gentle activity into your day - walk in the woods, or at a place like Brookside Gardens, go for a bike ride, and enjoy your last few dips in the pool. Keep your energy flowing without draining your reserves.
This is also a wonderful time to notice what nature is doing around you: bees finishing their work, plants ripening, trees slowly letting go of leaves. Just like the natural world, we’re shifting gears and preparing for cooler months.
Acupuncture for Seasonal Support
Transitional seasons are an ideal time for acupuncture. Treatments can help keep digestion strong, ease seasonal changes, and boost resilience before fall and winter.
Late Summer is all about setting yourself up for balance—inside and out. If you’d like support aligning with the season, we’d love to help you feel your best.