Seed cycling is a growing trend claimed to balance hormones, boost fertility, and ease symptoms of menopause.
It involves eating flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds at different times of the month to balance certain hormones. The idea is that different seeds can promote or hinder the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
WHAT IS SEED CYCLING?
Seed cycling is a naturopathic remedy that is claimed to balance hormones by regulating the hormone oestrogen in the first half of your menstrual cycle and the hormone progesterone in the second half. Its purported health benefits include helping regulate periods, reducing acne, treating polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, and infertility, and easing symptoms of menopause, such as hot flushes, night sweats, fatigue, and mood swings.
The most common method instructs women to eat 1 tablespoon each of freshly ground flax and pumpkin seeds per day for the first 13–14 days of their menstrual cycle, which is known as the follicular phase. During the second half of their cycle, which is known as the luteal phase, seed cyclers eat 1 tablespoon each of ground sunflower and sesame seeds per day until the first day of their next period when their cycle starts again.
For menopausal and postmenopausal women without a regular menstrual cycle, it’s often recommended to use the phases of the moon as a guide to cycle dates, with day one of their cycle falling on the new moon.
Proponents claim that positive hormonal changes will be noticed after just a few months of cycling. Phytoestrogens in flax seeds can help increase or decrease estrogen levels as needed. Phytoestrogens are compounds in plants that can mimic the action of oestrogen.
Zinc from pumpkin seeds could promote progesterone production in preparation for the next phase of the cycle.
During the luteal phase, lignans — a type of polyphenol — in sesame are supposed to inhibit oestrogen levels from increasing too much. Meanwhile, the vitamin E in sunflower seeds is thought to help boost progesterone levels.
I have used seed cycling with clients as part of a programme to balance hormones and I do believe that there are some benefits. However I do not think that this method alone should be relied upon. It should always be part of an overall programme. But it is still something that everyone can try at home.