Seed cycling provides specific nutrients required to help build your hormones. Seed cycling at any stage in a woman's life is beneficial and it is especially helpful for women coming off of birth control or struggling with post-birth control syndrome symptoms like acne, irregular periods, or new onset of PMS.
To use seed cycling you need to know a few things. You’ll be tracking your menstrual cycle and changing your seeds to match the phase you are in. Day one is the first day you experience your period (there is a flow). That will be the day you begin the follicular phase seeds and you’ll continue through ovulation or day 14.
The practice is quite simple, beginning the first day of your cycle you'll eat 1-2 tablespoons of fresh ground flaxseeds and raw pumpkin seeds, which supports both estrogen production and metabolism. It's a great way to create balanced estrogen, which is key during the follicular phase.
Following ovulation, which can vary for each woman, you will switch to 1-2 tablespoons each of raw sunflower and sesame seeds. For the purpose of seed rotation, we generally change to these seeds at day 15 of the cycle, but if you’re tracking your ovulation then you can switch seeds the day following ovulation. Sunflower and sesame seeds support progesterone levels, which is the key hormone during the luteal phase (the phase following ovulation until your next period).
Seed cycling is a practice that supports the nutrition and lifestyle therapies you may already be using. Seed rotation is considered a “food as medicine” practice, but it doesn't mean it is a substitute for a medication you require. In other words, you can't swap out seeds for a pharmaceutical treating a diagnosed medical condition. Seed cycling is meant to support what your body does naturally—building hormones and eliminating excess.