Fatigued?? irregular periods??? adult acne??? PCOS??? Hormonal imbalance?? If you have any one of those things, you’re at the right place sissy. 🙂

I have struggled with all of these problems for around 4 years now. It was so overwhelming to deal with all of it at once, so I feel ya. As soon as I was diagnosed with PCOS, I started researching a lot about it and found hundreds of different tips and tricks over the internet. I am still on my journey of learning about health and nutrition in general. I am sharing this one in particular because it helped me out in managing my fatigue, irregular periods and hormonal imbalance. I hope this post helps out girls/women out there, who are dealing with the similar kind of problems as I did. I don’t want any of you to be as confused as I was while starting my journey towards a healthy and holistic lifestyle.

What is seed cycling?

Seed cycling is a way to consume different types of seeds throughout different phases of the menstrual cycle. There are mainly four types of seeds that are used in seed cycling, which include pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.

Why should one do seed cycling?

I came across this term a year ago and thought, how can some seeds help me in balancing my hormones? What another way to know rather than trying it out for myself, I thought. This is when I discovered what seed cycling was and tried it out for a few months. I noticed how less fatigued I was after just a month of seed cycling. I got my period on time, my menstrual cramps were significantly reduced and my skin started to clear out too. I started realizing that my hormones are finally balancing because I started seeing the results. It also benefits women who are facing any kind of fertility issues (or so I have heard, I am not trying to conceive so can’t say for sure). Last but not least, it was so easy to incorporate in day to day life. It just takes 5 minutes, that’s how easy it is.

How to do seed cycling?

Start with Pumpkin seeds and ground Flax seeds (grinding them makes the nutrition absorption for the body easier) on the first day of your period. Take both of these for 15 days. After 15 days, switch to the sunflower seeds and ground sesame seeds until you get your period again. Repeat!!

That’s how simple it is. You can easily incorporate the seeds in your breakfast smoothies, oats or simply eat a handful. It is a completely safe and natural method to balance your hormones if they are out of whack. This is a very simple way of using food to balance your hormones. I will be sharing some breakfast recipes or how I incorporate seed cycling in my diet in my next blog posts.

Science behind seed cycling and why it works

There are two types of phases of our menstrual cycle. The first phase of the cycle is called Follicular and the latter phase is called Luteal phase. Flax seeds and pumpkin seeds naturally boost your estrogen level, which is what our body is trying to produce in the follicular phase of our cycle (first phase) to prepare for implantation. It also helps us in flushing out the extra estrogen in our body (if we have some). Both of the seeds help us in building the lining of the uterus. Sunflower and sesame seeds help in the Luteal phase (second phase) of our cycle. The hormone progesterone significantly drops in this phase and the uterus lining starts to shed. Sunflower and sesame seeds contain vitamin E and zinc which help in maintaining progesterone levels in our body resulting in a healthy period.

PS: I am not a professional nutritionist nor I am telling anyone, what to do and what not to do. I am just sharing my experience after adapting these changes, as these tips helped me with the problems I was facing.