Seed Cycling to Naturally Balance Hormones
Looking for a natural way to help regulate your hormones and improve your cycle? Let’s talk about seed cycling!
Seed cycling has been around for a long time but seems to be getting a little more mainstream lately as women are searching for more natural methods of balancing hormones.
Seed cycling can be beneficial for:
Irregular periods
PMS symptoms like cramps, mood swings, headaches, fatigue, bloating
Infertility
Endometriosis
Fibrocystic breasts
Fibroids
Hot flashes
Night sweats
and more…
Basically any woman with hormone issues should give it a try!
Whether you are dealing with excess estrogen or what’s called estrogen dominance, or you are entering perimenopause or menopause where estrogen is typically low- seed cycling can help!
So what is Seed Cycling?
It’s actually quite simple, you eat different ground up seeds at different parts of your menstrual cycle in order to help naturally balance your hormones! The different seeds and their hulls contain something called lignans which are able to bind excess hormones and the fatty acids they provide are great building blocks for our hormones.
The seeds should be raw and organic and you should grind them yourself in order to maintain their freshness. If you do grind them before you are ready to eat them, store them in a sealed glass jar in the fridge.
The typical Seed Cycling Schedule is based on a normal 28 day cycle. If you have irregular cycles you can begin phase 1 at the new moon and then switch to phase 2 at the full moon.
If your cycle is shorter you can do phase 1 when your period begins and switch to phase 2 when you ovulate. You typically ovulate 14 days before you begin bleeding but this can vary so you may need to adjust.
If you’re in menopause or are not having a cycle, use the moon cycle as your guide.
Phase 1
The first half of your cycle is called the follicular phase which begins the day you start your period. This part of your cycle is more estrogen dominant. Phase 1 lasts usually around 14 days and ends with ovulation.
During this phase you will consume 1 Tbsp each of ground flax and pumpkin seeds.
Flaxseeds a contain lignans that help the body escort out excess estrogens while pumpkin seeds can support progesterone levels for your next phase.
This is a great time for fish oil as well, take 2000 mg a day.
Phase 2
The second half of your cycle is the progesterone dominant phase and begins at ovulation around day 14 and is called the luteal phase. During this time you will consume 1 Tbsp each of sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. These 2 seeds are high in Omega 6 fatty acids. Again these seeds help by binding to excess estrogen and the sunflower seeds contain selenium and help support the liver to maintain hormone balance.
This is a great time to also add Evening Primrose Oil 500-1500 mg a day.
You can add the ground seeds to smoothies or shakes, mix in yogurt or oatmeal or make some energy balls or treats with them! Some people just eat a big spoonful and wash it down with water. Since you need to stick with it for a few cycles to see the benefits, find whatever way works well for you or mix it up for variety
We adapted our favorite Energy ball recipe but you can tweak it or find many other options through a quick google search!
Seed Cycling Energy Bites Phase 1 Recipe:
1 cup ground flaxseeds
1 cup ground pumpkin seeds
½ cup of Favorite nut butter
⅓ cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
⅓ cup Honey
⅓ cup unsweetened Coconut flakes
Roll into 14-15 balls and eat 1 a day. Store in the fridge or freezer in a glass jar.
Seed Cycling Energy Bites Phase 2 Recipe:
1 cup ground sesame seeds
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
½ cup of favorite nut butter
⅓ cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
⅓ cup Honey
⅓ cup unsweetened Coconut flakes
Mix it all up and roll into 14-15 balls. Store in the fridge or freezer in a glass jar.
Keep in mind this is not a quick fix and often you will need to stick to it for a few cycles before you get the full benefits. It’s so worth it to work on balancing your hormones naturally using food instead of medicines! Plus the good fats in the seeds are great for your overall health.
Give it a try and let us know how it goes!
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