Mood swings, bloating and painful cramps can all be caused by your hormones. But now there’s a trend called “seed cycling” that’s growing in popularity. Seed cycling involves eating a serving of seeds everyday and it’s designed to be a drug-free way to get your delicate hormones back on track.
Many women’s hormone levels are influenced by what’s going on in their life. Poor sleep, poor diet and stress can all affect cell inflammation and cause poor liver function. In turn, these can affect PMS, and your menstrual cycle.
Seed cycling is gentle, drug-free and the ingredients are easy to buy at any market or supermarket. You can sprinkle the seeds on cereal, mix into salads, smoothies, stir fries or porridge – whatever works for you.
It’s important to know that regular menstrual cycles are organised in phases. The first follicular phase occurs after the first day of your period and continues for approximately the first 14 days. Then comes the second phase, the luteal phase. This lasts from approximately day 15 to day 28.
But this division is a rough guide because some women naturally have longer or shorter menstrual cycles. Some cycles are 21 days, others are 25, others are 28. As long as your period cycle is regular, and normal for you, that’s okay.
To do seed cycling, you need to split your menstrual cycle into two parts or phases.
These phases of your menstrual cycle are controlled by hormones. Mostly oestrogen and progesterone – and that is where seed cycling happens.
Hormones rely on minerals, vitamins and fatty acids to be produced and used by the body. By eating seeds that contain certain minerals, you can give the body the kind of minerals and vitamins it needs and this can help regulate your hormones.
But you need to be patient, because you need to do seed cycling for three to four months before you start to notice an impact on your hormones. Some women find it can take 12 months to restore balance to hormones that are very out of whack.