Hello, this is Monica Reinagel, and you are listening to the 400th episode of the Nutrition Diva Podcast. And today we're talking about eating with the

seasons and what benefits this may or may not deliver. Marissa wrote to me this week and

said, I recently met someone who's lost a significant amount of weight, and among the many rules that his nutritionist told him to follow was to eat only fruits and vegetables in season. Does the science support

this? Eating with the seasons has become a very popular idea and it can certainly be a

fun and delicious way to add variety to your menus.

And I also appreciate the way that it keeps me a little bit more in touch with the natural

world and how our food is grown.

In the spring, we savor the early spring greens, radishes, scallions, and peas.

And then in the early summer we have beets, strawberries, and desparagus.

And then as the summer rolls on, we gorge on cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, corn, and peaches.

And in the fall, it's fun then to turn to the cool weather crops,

apples, carrots, broccoli, and pumpkins. Now for those of us who live in cooler climates,

there's really not that much to harvest between the last fall

pumpkins and those first early spring peas. So does that mean that we shouldn't eat vegetables in the

winter? And then what about those string beans and tomatoes

that we put up during the summer? Would getting them out in January break the rules? And there

are lots of nutritious fruits and vegetables that are never in season where I live.

Things like avocados and oranges and olives.

So can I only

I'm visiting California or Mexico or Greece. For most of us, I think it would be impractical to eat only seasonal fruits and vegetables all year round.

More importantly, I'm not at all sure that eating strictly with the seasons

necessarily ensures the best nutrition. Of course, freshly picked local produce is likely to be more nutritious and more

...