Should I Seed Cycle?

There is a lot of hype and excitement around “seed cycling” to aid in fertility, PCOS, eliminate hormonal acne, bring regularity to your menstrual cycle, relieve PMS, and ease the transition to menopause, because this protocol helps to balance your hormones.

The premise is you eat certain seeds and nuts at certain times of your cycle, as some seeds are higher in phytoestrogens and others are more supportive of progesterone production. So, starting on the first day of bleeding you eat 1 tablespoon each of flax and pumpkin seeds (this starts with the menstruation phase and then goes into the follicular phase). You do that for 2 weeks and then move into eating 1 tablespoon each of sesame and sunflower seeds (going into the ovulation phase and then the luteal phase).

The way seed cycling is presented on social media, it is a huge time commitment (and, YES we should be committed to our health), and involves a lot of planning and organization. You need to know where you are in your cycle which can be difficult for anyone with irregular cycles, or maybe you don’t ovulate. The advice is to grind the seeds daily, but this can cause undue stress – you need a grinder, the time to do it, and then clean up. Grinding nuts and seeds does make them more easy for us to digest and absorb, but because they are high in nutritious oils they can go bad quickly when ground if not stored properly.

But grinding nuts daily as part of the process may not be necessary. You can use nut butters. You can eat the nuts and seeds whole, in a variety of foods such as salads, soups, stir-fry, sandwiches. I personally grind a small batch, just enough for the week, and freeze them in an airtight container.

However, the idea of seed cycling may not even be necessary at all.

The body does utilize nutrients differently across the phases of your menstrual cycle (zinc, magnesium, and calcium blood levels have been shown to vary across the cycle), but this does not mean that there's any benefit to consuming specific nuts and seeds across the menstrual cycle to supply these nutrients.

Our bodies have an amazing ability to tightly regulate how nutrients are utilized, not just for the menstrual cycle and hormonal balance, but all body processes. Our bodies can store nutrients for use at the appropriate time. This means that consuming sufficient quantities of nutrient dense foods, and consistently is far more beneficial than what occurs in the seed cycling protocol.

So, what’s behind all the success stories? Well, adding anything healthy to your diet usually leads to an increased awareness in nutrient intake, and small positive nutrition shifts will be beneficial for your well-being. In addition, all nuts and seeds will provide good oils and fibre, and many other nutrients that our entire bodies need to function optimally. Such as:

Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E – anti-inflammatory effect and essential for hormone production and ovary function

• Zinc – helps to improve the formation of the corpus luteum and increase progesterone levels
• Selenium – supports ovulation and liver detoxification
• Fibre – supportive of the entire digestive tract and estrogen elimination
• Protein – muscle development, enzyme production
• Magnesium – helps to relax muscles (including the uterus), relaxes the nervous system
• Copper – supports stable blood sugar levels
• Folate – lowers homocystine, and can help prevent cancer

These nutrients will help to reduce pain, inflammation, and cramping, level out blood sugar, provide hormonal balance, increase liver detoxification, and much more.

While modern science isn’t conclusive about the effects of seed cycling, nuts and seeds are proven to be beneficial, nutritious, and an essential part of our diets.

So, simplify your life.

Don’t limit yourself to consuming a certain few nuts and seeds at certain times of the month. Eat a wide variety of nuts and seeds regularly. As Avia Romm says “Rather than spend your precious life energy stressing about eating the “right seeds” at “the perfect time,” you can let go of the rigidity and instead choose to consume a variety of seeds daily.”

The questions then become, what is ‘regularly’, and how much? 1 ounce (about 3 tablespoons, but will differ depending on the size of the nut or seed) five days a week will provide the nourishment you are looking for. Depending on the issue you are working towards resolving, you will start to see positive results in 1 to 3 months. Please note, it is likely that other dietary changes should be made, and maintained to achieve lasting results.

You can do this! You can heal with the right foods!

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