The summer solstice simply means the longest day of the year…already! Depending where you are in the UK you will enjoy between 16-18 hours of sunlight on 21st June 2018.

It’s a wonderful day to celebrate as people have done for thousands of years and give thanks to the sun for what it provides for us. You could celebrate with a BBQ, a bonfire, getting out into nature or singing and dancing.

The word solstice means to stand still and I think its a wonderful day to take off of work if you can and relax or even plan your summer.

Being a nutritionist I like to look at health based around seasons and you my find that any long term imbalance show up around this time, so planning ahead for the transition can make things easier for you.

Summer rules the heart as well as the small intestines, circulation, tongue, regulation of the internal body temperature and pericardium (the sack around the heart). Bitter is the flavour that supports the heart so foods like chicory, carob, cacao, coffee and salads leaves like endive and watercress are wonderful to support the fire element. So enjoy these foods as we are approaching the solstice and during this season up until 1st August when we enter the late summer season.

If you have too much fire you may have a red complexion so avoid red foods and eat more cooling foods like cucumber and melon and remember to stay hydrated.

If you feel you are lacking joy in your life you can help to increase the fire element with more warming foods like cayenne, ginger and curry.

Generally, hawthorn berries and rose are both wonderful at this time of year (how about a rose tea or rose massage oil, hawthorn tincture or jelly) and anything that helps circulation like exercise will improve the heart. On particularly hot days though we should avoid vigorous exercise and enjoy lighter forms of exercise so as not to increase our heat too much. You could exercise before 10am or after 4pm, when the sun is no longer at it’s strongest.

It’s good practice to eat lighter at this time of year and this helps to look after small intestine, most people tend to be drawn towards more raw at this time naturally.

Enjoy the summer, the sun, the salads and the socialising x