SEED CYCLING: NATURAL REMEDY FOR HORMONE IMBALANCE
Hormone imbalance is at an all time high caused by all sorts of toxins both from our environment and products we are exposed to on the daily. Having hormonal imbalance can show itself in a number a ways but having it is not fun. There are many ways you can try to balance your hormones naturally, one being through Seed Cycling. So what exactly is Seed Cycling you may ask? Kind of what the name implies It is the use of different seeds in the diet at different times in the menstrual cycle to support optimal hormonal balance. Seeds carry certain oils, vitamins, and nutrients that can help support the body’s production, release, and metabolism of hormones. The seeds used in seed rotation are flax and pumpkin seeds, and sesame and sunflower seeds. So now that you have a basic understanding of what it is you may be wondering how you can add this into your diet!
HOW TO SEED CYCLE
Follicular Phase: Day 1 to Day 14, or until ovulation:
1 tablespoon each freshly ground raw flax seeds and pumpkin seeds daily.
Luteal Phase: From Day 15 (about) to 28, or until menses:
1 tablespoon each freshly ground raw sunflower and sesame seeds daily.
- What if you have an irregular cycle? Begin your follicular seeds at the next full moon and switching to the luteal seeds 14 days later.
- The seeds should be organic and raw if possible and ground fresh every day or two. The oils in the seeds can go rancid and loos potency if they’re ground for too long. You can add the seeds in anywhere that it’s easy for you, I typically add to my salads.
WHY THESE SEED COMBINATIONS?
The combination of pumpkin and flax seed helps your body detoxify extra estrogen this time of the month (the lignans especially from the flax seeds bind to excess estrogen and help your body to eliminate it). High zinc levels in pumpkin seeds prevent the estrogen from converting to harmful forms of testosterone and also prime your body for progesterone production which will happen in the second half of the cycle.
The combination of sunflower and sesame in the luteal phase of the cycle has a lighter dose of lignans from the sesame seeds, but is rich in zinc and selenium which helps progesterone production. These seeds are also a rich source of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid which can convert to gamma linolenic acid, which also helps the balance between progesterone and estrogen.
WHAT DOES SEED CYCLING HELP?
- Hormonal acne
- PMS
- Irregular Cycle
- Infertility
- Too light or too heavy bleeding
- Peri-menopause and post menopausal hormone symptoms
- PCOS
- Irregular cycle
Pretty simple right? I would NOT recommend doing this if you already have a regular cycle, just if you are having some hormonal imbalance symptoms. I would also like to mention this is by no means a quick fix for your hormonal imbalance. You should start to see results after 3-4 cycles. I hoped you enjoyed!
xx nichole
