How to Prepare Your Body for Summer

Prepare Your Body for Summer, Naturally

Spring isn’t just the season for watching videos of disheveled bears reemerging from hibernation. It’s a biological wake-up call for us humans as well. After months of a slowed metabolism, comforting meals, and reduced sunlight, your body is in need of revitalization.

If winter is the body's "hibernation," then spring is the reset button. Understanding the physiological changes of this season can help you optimize nutrition, detox pathways, and energy systems, setting the stage for a vibrant, active summer.

Unfortunately, your body doesn’t do all of this automatically. 

Spring Is Detox Season

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, spring is associated with the liver, the body’s master detoxifier. And from a modern physiological standpoint, this makes sense. During winter, reduced activity and heavier food create a buildup of metabolic waste, environmental toxins, and even sluggish bile flow. Spring sunlight and movement help kickstart liver function, but you can accelerate the process with:

• Bitter greens like dandelion, arugula, mustard greens, and watercress
• Sulfur-rich foods like garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts)
• Supportive nutrients: glutathione, milk thistle, taurine, and methylated B vitamins

These help increase your detox capacity by supporting glutathione production, bile flow, and phase I/II liver detoxing.  These are especially important if you’re reintroducing outdoor exercise, consuming more alcohol, or trying to lose those extra few pounds before swim season.

 

2. Histamine & Allergy Defense: Prepare Your Immune System

Spring can also means pollen, mold, and environmental allergens, triggering histamine reactions and inflammation that can lead to fatigue, brain fog, congestion, or breakouts - Not exactly ideal when you're trying to “clean out” and kickstart your summer!

To help modulate histamine levels and stabilize mast cells, focus on:

• Quercetin, a natural antihistamine found in things like onions, capers, apples
• Vitamin C, which degrades histamine and supports immune response – Grab an orange…Not orange juice!
• DAO enzymes, which break down histamine in the gut – Boost DOA enzyme production with Olive Oil, wild caught salmon, Walnuts, Avocados, and eggs
• Probiotics to support gut barrier and immune balance- Fermented foods or a good supplement goes a long way

Reducing sugar and processed food intake can also lower systemic inflammation and histamine burden.

 

3. Spring Sunlight: Reset Your Circadian Clock

As days grow longer, the pineal gland reduces melatonin production and increases serotonin production, which shifts you from a winter rest/darkness cycle to an alert, energized circadian rhythm.

To harness this shift:

• Get morning sunlight as early as possible to anchor cortisol and melatonin release
• Increase movement in daylight hours, which promotes better sleep regulation at night
• Reduce caffeine after noon, which may now affect sleep more strongly as your body transitions to lighter rest patterns

Proper vitamin D supplementation can help fill the gap until sun exposure is sufficient to stimulate production through the skin.

 

4. Lymph & Movement: Activate the Drainage System

Warmer weather means more movement, and that’s a good thing! The lymphatic system clears cellular waste and supports immunity but has no central pump like the heart. It relies on muscle contractions and breath to move (picture a snake swallowing food). Spring is the ideal time to jumpstart this process:

• Daily walks, preferably outdoors for the fresh air
• Rebounding or vibration platforms for gentle lymph stimulation
• Dry brushing to activate superficial lymph channels
• Hydration with minerals, like magnesium and potassium, to help fluid balance and mitochondrial activity

You can also consider herbal support like Antioxidant+, which contains ingredients traditionally used to encourage lymph flow and detoxing.

 

5. Nutrition for Transition: What to Eat (and Why)

In spring, your body naturally begins to crave lighter, fresh foods. If you’ve spend the last few months enjoying dense fats and starches, start leaning toward hydrating, cleansing options like:

• Raw or lightly cooked vegetables (steamed or sautéed over roasted)
• Seasonal produce: asparagus, artichokes, snap peas, sprouts, arugula, strawberries
• Fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir to re-establish gut flora
• Herbal teas like nettle, matcha/green tea, lemon balm, or ginger for gentle detox and immune regulation

Supplement support can focus on:

• Liver & bile support: bitters, beetroot, choline, milk thistle
• Antioxidants: vitamin C, ALA, resveratrol
• Methylation support: B12 (methylcobalamin), methylfolate, B6

 

6. Mental Shift: From Stillness to Movement

Spring requires re-engagement of the mind too! Many experience a rise in dopamine and serotonin with more sunlight, movement, and social connection.

You can support this neurochemical rebalance with:

• Tyrosine (dopamine precursor)
• Tryptophan or 5-HTP (serotonin support)
• Magnesium threonate or glycinate, which support the nervous system during seasonal adjustment
• Adaptogens like Rhodiola or holy basil to balance energy without overstimulation (check out Cortisol Balance)

 

 

When you align your nutrition and lifestyle with the needs of this transitional season, you support your body’s detox, immune, metabolic, and circadian systems in a powerful way.

By clearing out what winter left behind and giving your body what it needs to thrive, you’ll be ready for summer. Now’s the time for a physiological relaunch for more energy, resilience, and clarity!