Being an aware flexitarian looks like many things for me. It looks like curating–or at least caring about–where my food comes from. It looks like actively learning about health and the environment. And it looks like taking care of my body using the gentlest methods possible.
I learned about seed cycling a couple years ago. Have you heard of it? If so, you can meet me here, where I'll give you practical ways to incorporate seeds into your diet during the follicular phase. (Or if you're looking for inspiration for your luteal phase, meet me here.) For those who have no clue what I'm blathering on about, read on!
Seed cycling is a holistic way to support healthy and regular menstruation. It is especially helpful for those with PCOS, hormone imbalances, and irregular or absent menses. I fall into the very last category. For three years, I haven't had a period. I'm trying seed cycling to see if I can naturally bring back my menses.
As much as I love not having to deal with the mess and the bother, menstruation is healthy and it is a gift. Even if you don't quite want to go the length of saying it's a gift, the fact that menstruation is the healthy way of a woman's body is undeniable.
I am fascinated by the monthly process, the slow thickening of the lining of the uterus to receive a hypothetical fertilized egg, the forming of the eggs themselves, and then, at the end of it all (or the beginning), the shedding of the lining to prepare for the new cycle. Our bodies' universal process is complicated and, yes, beautiful, although it may not seem like it when you're washing stains out of your sheets for the third night in a row.
Oops! I wandered a little off topic, didn't I? Sorry. So, seed cycling: what is it?
How Seed Cycling Works
During the first 14-ish days of your cycle, which is called the follicular phase and which starts on the first day of your period, you eat 1 Tablespoon of flax seeds and 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin seeds every day. During the last 14-ish days of your cycle (the luteal phase), you eat 1 Tablespoon of sunflower seeds and 1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds each day. (And yes, those can be consumed in seed butter form.) These seeds contain properties that help your hormones to balance and behave.
If you don't have a period or have an irregular one, you can mark the beginning of the follicular phase as the day of the new moon, and the beginning of the luteal phase as the day of the full moon. This is what I did.
Does it sound a little woo-woo? Yes! But it may do good, and it won't do the harm that conventional treatments probably will. I'll post updates here on the blog as to how the experiment is going.
Now that you know what seed cycling is, you can head over to Parts 2 and 3 of this series (linked above), where I detail what I ate on my seed cycling adventure. Hopefully those posts will give you some inspiration on how to easily work seeds into your daily routine!
Best,
KB
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