Hormone Balance, or imbalance, affects women across all the stages of menstrual life.
From the very beginning stages, a young woman approaching Menarche starts exhibiting signs of surging hormones, mood control issues, headaches, increased appetite, acne… fast forward to a woman who has been menstruating for a few years already and she is experiencing Pre Menstrual Symptoms like back pain, tender breasts, mood control issues, increased appetite, cyclical acne…. a New Mother, recently birthed and hormones having a hard time normalising, experiencing frequent bleeding well past the time of lochia, perhaps she is experiencing mood control issues as well and not sleeping well even when babe is sleeping, and a Peri Menopausal woman, night sweats, anxiety rushes, tender breasts, lack of sleep in luteal phase, loss of libido and all of the above symptoms as an added bonus… in the majority of cases these hormonal imbalances can be addressed and significantly improved if not resolved through natural medicines and natural foods.
Seed Cycling is one very easy and delicious way at addressing hormone imbalances.
Simply stated, the different types of 
seeds you eat during the different parts of your cycle have properties that will naturally begin balancing your hormones.
Now not every cycle is 28 days, as my clients know VERY well, [soapbox time] .
“Normal” cycles run from 21 to 35 days. To best calculate your follicular and luteal phases if you have a regular cycle, take your cycle length and subtract 12 or 14 (the number of days in an ideal luteal phase) to get the number of days in your Follicular Phase.
So if you generally have a 35 day cycle (give or take) you likely ovulate around Day 21-23. if you have a 21 day cycle you likely ovulate around Day 9-11.
If you are dealing with a more serious diagnosis like PCOS or Secondary Amenorrhea, this can still be VERY beneficial for you. You likely (especially if you are TTC) are already tracking your cycle in a Period Tracker of some sort (I recommend Kindara to all of my clients due to ease of use, adaptability and easy share function). Simply follow instructions for Follicular Phase until you have a positive ovulation indicator, then carry on Luteal Phase instruction.
So how does one go about Seed Cycling?
Here’s a cute infographic (that i couldn’t find an original source for so if someone knows, PLEASE educate me)
During your Follicular Phase (Start of Bleed until you Ovulate)
1 tbsp. freshly ground flax seeds: full of lignans that block any excess oestrogen.
1 tbsp. freshly ground pumpkin seeds: high in zinc which supports progesterone production.
During your Luteal Phase (After Ovulation until your next bleed)
1 tbsp. freshly ground sunflower seeds: high in selenium for hormone metabolism and liver detoxification.
1 tbsp. freshly ground sesame seeds: full of lignans that block excess oestrogen
Now, before you run out to your local Bulk Barn to load up on these tasty treats which are sure to send you into hormonal bliss, lets discuss FRESHNESS and ORGANIC!
I am not a huge pusher of organic, not because I don’t believe true organic is beneficial, rather because I know things marketed as organic AREN’T always, but they DO always carry a higher sticker price. So unless you are able to grow your own FRESH and ORGANIC seeds (and please, if you are, send some my way), find a reliable source for FRESH and ORGANIC seeds, like your local health food supplier (not grocery chain)… I stress FRESH because ground seeds lose their nutrients quickly enough that you don’t want something that’s been sitting around in barrels or bags for a long time. For maximum effectiveness, fresh is your best bet. I say (in this case) ORGANIC because why would we put something grown with hormone altering chemicals into our body as a way to regulate hormones… silly question, I know, you already thought of that yourselves because you are one smart group of readers!
Now, how do we consume these amazing hormone regulating tasty treats?
How about:
– on a bowl of hot breakfast cereal
– as a salad topper
– mixed into your 5% Greek Yogurt
– on top of that zucchini noodle coconut amino stir fry you just made
the possibilities are as endless as your Pinterest Search options.. now GO, DO!
Gloria Laing – Reflexology Therapist and Doula
Reflexology for Women’s Health, Fertility, Maternity, Birth Support
