Seed Cycling for Hormones!

Are you experience annoying, painful, irregular or absent periods that are often a sign of underlying hormone imbalance? Do you use medications like Advil or oral Birth Control to suppress the symptoms of hormonal imbalances? You have options. One option is addressing the hormone imbalance with diet. The nice thing is that you will benefit even more than your hormones when you change your diet in a healthy way. We will discuss other benefits below.

One way to incorporate healthy fats into your diet to support your hormones is Seed Cycling Protocol. I love this protocol because it is simple, healthy and so effective. This protocol isn’t just for premenopausal women but also women approaching, in or post menopause.

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What is Seed Cycling?

Seed cycling is a food-based method of supporting a healthy menstrual cycle by incorporating different nutrient-packed seeds into your diet during different phases of your menstrual cycle. If your cycle is absent or irregular, you’ll follow the different phases of the moon (because she’s got the same rhythm that your body needs). 

The menstrual cycle is regulated by a delicate balance of hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone. In a perfect cycle, estrogen is highest during days 1-14 (day 1 is the first day of your period), which is called the follicular phase, while progesterone is highest during days 15-28, the luteal phase. However, all too often these hormones become out of balance and can result in irregular/absent periods or nasty symptoms like PMS, cramps, acne, etc. Fortunately, the seeds in the seed cycling protocol below contain hormone balancing capabilities. I’ll go into greater detail later on about how they work. 

How to do Seed Cycling.

It’s pretty simple. Just add 2 Tablespoons of seeds to your diet each day, rotating the type of seeds as described below. Flax seeds should be ground, due to their hard outer shell. All other seeds can be eaten with or without grinding. They can be eaten by the handful, added to a trail mix, sprinkled on oatmeal or salad, added to a smoothie or used however you like. By grinding the dess up you are increasing the absorption by increasing the surface area. So if you have the time grind them all up!

Here’s what you need to get started:

  • Seed grinder, coffee grinder or a strong blender that can grind up small seeds efficiently (Vitamix, Blendtec, Magic Bullet or similar).

  • Ground flax seeds

  • Ground pumpkin seeds

  • Ground sesame seeds

  • Ground sunflower seeds

Days 1 to 14 of your cycle (or new moon to full moon if cycles are irregular or absent): 

  • 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seeds.

  • 1 Tablespoon of ground pumpkin seeds

Days 15 to 28 of your cycle (or full moon to new moon if cycles are irregular or absent):

  • 1 Tablespoon of ground sesame seeds.

  • 1 Tablespoon of ground sunflower seeds

You don’t have a regular cycle? It is recommended to follow the 28 day moon phase. So Day 1 would be the new Moon and Day 14 would be the Full Moon.


Seeds supply your body with the anti-inflammatory substances such as lignans, omega fats and fiber which can help to balance your cycle and reduce the frustrating symptoms we talked about earlier.

Lignans have both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity. This simply means that they can attach themselves to estrogen receptors in your body to compete against the stronger estrogens that are produced by our bodies.  More data is needed about effects of phytoestrogens on specific conditions, like hormone-sensitive cancers.

When you are feeling cramps during your period, what you’re feeling is contractions in the muscular lining of the uterus. The omega fats in the oils of the nuts and seeds have anti-inflammatory benefits and can support muscle relaxation in the uterus, which will reduce cramping. 

Other foods that are beneficial for reducing inflammation include Omega-3 essential fatty acids from various fish.Adding in oil supplements can make this protocol even more effective.

The seed cycling protocol above also provides added fiber, something most of us are not getting enough of on a daily basis. Fiber has many benefits including:

  • Promoting satiety: this helps you to feel fuller longer, reducing appetite and encouraging maintenance of a healthy weight

  • Binding toxins from food and the environment to remove them from the body through bowel movements

  • Reducing sugar & carbohydrate “crashes”: Fiber decreases the glycemic response to food, meaning that it supports more stable blood sugar decreasing low and high blood sugar

  • Supporting healthy cholesterol levels

  • Promoting regular bowel movements

  • Supporting healthy bacteria in the large intestines: Fiber gets fermented by our healthy microflora (which are beneficial bacteria in the GI tract), producing substances called short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s). These SCFA’s become food for the cells lining the GI tract. (2) SCFA’s have many other exciting potential health benefits that are being investigated, including appetite regulation, immune function, balanced blood sugar, and weight control. (3)

A few More Seed Cycling Tips

Organic raw seeds are optimal for this protocol (not roasted, sweetened, salted, or flavoured).  If you don’t have access to organic this will still work for you. These can be found in the refrigerated section of your health food store or healthy grocery store. If they are on the shelf then refrigerate them as soon as you get them home! The raw seeds contain the most health benefits, and refrigeration will keep the seeds and their oils from going rancid. Rancid oils can do more harm than good in the body. As they become oxidized, they become pro-inflammatory.

  • Recipe idea: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds blended with 1 cup warm almond or coconut milk, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, a dash of cinnamon, and a little honey or molasses makes a delightful drink in the evening after dinner.

  • Drink adequate water while doing seed cycling, as the seeds are increasing your fiber intake and you will get bloating if you don’t drink your water!

  • If you have irregular or absent periods, you may wish to schedule an appointment with a naturopathic doctor for a more individualized approach and for additional natural hormone balancing support.

Recipe!

Hormone Balancing Chocolate Collagen Energy Bites!

MAKES 15 SERVINGS (2 BITES PER SERVING) | PREP TIME 20 MINUTES | COOK TIME 

INGREDIENTS

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  • 1 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds or raw, unsalted sunflower seeds (see notes)

  • 1 cup raw flaxseeds or raw sesame seeds (see notes)

  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates, packed

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for rolling

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 cups collagen

  • 1 (4-oz) banana

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Grind the seeds in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender.

  2. To a food processor, add the ground seeds, pitted Medjool dates, and cocoa powder. Process until the mixture is the consistency of sand.

  3. Add in the sea salt, vanilla extract, and banana. Process until well combined.

  4. At this point you have two choices: a) add the collagen directly to the food processor (note: this can be a difficult task for your food processor since the mixture gets very sticky) or b) transfer the dough from the food processor to a large mixing bowl, add in the collagen, and then mix with your hands until thoroughly combined (note: this will be very messy, but less taxing on the food processor).

  5. Add a bit of cocoa powder to an empty bowl for rolling.

  6. Using a tablespoon, scoop 1 tablespoon at time from the batter and form into balls.

  7. Roll each ball in cocoa powder to coat and arrange on a plate in a single layer. Repeat until about 30 balls are formed. (If the batter gets too sticky to manage, put in the fridge to set for 15 minutes and then begin rolling again.)

  8. Once all the balls are formed, freeze the plate of bites in a single layer. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

NOTES

SEEDS / If you're in the first half of your cycle (Day 1-14 where Day 1 is the first day of your period), use pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. If you're in the second half of your cycle (Day 15-28), use sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.

COLLAGEN / I love Designs for Health Complete Collagen. You can order from my SHOP on my website if you would like.

WARNING / These are messy to make. The batter gets very sticky (thanks to the collagen), but that's what makes them extra chewy and delicious when frozen. So as long as you accept that you're going to get your hands chocolatey, it will all be worth it.REFERENCES

  1. Hudson, T., & Northrup, C. (2008). Women’s encyclopedia of natural medicine: alternative therapies and integrative medicine for total health and wellness. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  2. Lyon, M. (2013). Dietary Fiber. In J. Pizzorno, M. Murray (Eds), Textbook of natural medicine (pp 469-474). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.

  3. Morrison, D. J., & Preston, T. (2016). Formation of short chain fatty acids by the gut microbiota and their impact on human metabolism. Gut Microbes, 7(3), 189–200. http://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2015.1134082

Glenna Calder