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Health

SEED CYCLING For Hormonal Health

Seed Cycling For Hormonal Health
@nycbambi

In layman’s terms, seed cycling is the art of eating different types of seeds at different times of a woman’s cycle to help regulate hormones. That’s because nuts and seeds contain different hormone-mimicking compounds, and women excrete different hormones at different times of the month.

For a little refresher, the beginning of the cycle (immediately post-menstruation) is called the Follicular phase. This is when our uterine lining begins to rebuild, growing it’s follicle for ovulation. This is followed by the Ovulatory phase, which is when we are prepared to fertilize an egg for pregnancy. When that does not occur, we enter the Luteal phase, preparing us for menstruation, followed by the Menstrual phase, aka our period.

"Seed cycling can help."

It’s easy to think of our cycle centering around just our period, because it’s the most tangible. However, there is a lot going on in our bodies hormonally, all month long as detailed in these four phases, and if things feel off, it’s possible that they are. Our hormones hang in a delicate balance, and can be disrupted by environmental toxins, products, fragrances, stress, poor diet, and much more. Seed cycling can help.

Essentially, seed cycling is meant to regulate estrogen production in the first half of the cycle, and progesterone in the second half. This can help regulate the timing of our periods, reduce hormonal breakouts and atypical hair growth (like, on our chins, yikes) reduce cramps, night sweats, fatigue, bloating and even help to regulate mood.

First half of cycle — flax and pumpkin

During the follicular and ovulatory phases, which are typically the first 14 days of our cycle, we need estrogen-supporting compounds. Estrogen helps stimulate the growth and thickening of the uterus for implantation. These compounds can be found in flax and pumpkin seeds, but are more available from flax when it is ground. It’s easy to grind seeds yourself in a food processor, but ground flax is typically available in most markets.

Eat at least one tablespoon of each pumpkin seeds and ground flax seeds once per day. This can be added to smoothies, blended into dressings, sprinkled on oatmeal, yogurt, toasts, on salads or in soups, or munched right out of the spoon.

Second half of cycle — sunflower and sesame

For the second half of the cycle, luteal and menstrual, we need to bring balance to our progesterone production. Progesterone does the same thing— helps to thicken the uterine lining— but in case of pregnancy, it helps to keep the lining thick and in place to, well, keep you pregnant. When pregnancy doesn’t occur, aka there is no fertilized egg, progesterone levels naturally drop to prepare for menstruation.

Consume ground sunflower and sesame seeds the same way you would flax and pumpkin for the first half of the cycle. These are also great on cookies, or rice dishes. Get creative.

You can grind a large mason jar of each seed at the beginning of each month to make consumption easy and accessible daily. In a pinch, a tablespoon can be consumed on the spot. Because the compounds are so bioavailable in ground seeds, you may start noticing a difference right away in terms of PMS relief and the regulation of your period. We recommend keeping a journal to log any noticeable effects.